Girls Write Out
Thursday, March 04, 2010

I love creature comforts. When going through a struggle, I always think about those things that make me feel better. A cup of chicken noodle soup, a walk on the beach, a rainy night where the family is gathered around the table playing a board game.

Life's moments.

Here one of our granddaughters sits by a warm fire. Wonder what she's thinking? I'll bet whatever it is, this moment is being sketched across her memory. In the other picture our youngest granddaughter is chillin with our dog, Latte. They're buddies. It's a contented moment for them both, can you tell? ;-)

Life is full of these seemingly inconsequential moments that gather in our memories and pull us homeward each year during the holiday seasons. The smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in Mom's oven, the cinnamon-scented candles flickering in the dim-lit room.

I guess I'm rambling, but what I'm trying to say is these are the pieces of life that make up who we are. The moments that matter to us. Those moments may seem like nothing to someone else, but for us, they are etched in our memories forever.

When in elementary school at the end of a particular day, it was pouring down rain. I walked 12 blocks to school and was wondering how soaked I would get going home. When the school bell rang and I looked out the big double door, I spotted my mom in the car waiting for me. She took me home and a big pot of chili waited on the stove. Such a normal kind of day, but it burned in my memory as special because I felt warm, safe, loved.

Do you have a special memory that might not seem like much but for some reason it burned in your memory as something to savor?


Diann Hunt  
posted at 7:30 AM  
  Comments (13)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
13 Comments:
At 8:06 AM, Blogger Katy McKenna said...

This would seem like NOTHING to someone who came from a family filled with such moments, but I have a single sublime memory of walking with my mother, who was pushing an old-fashioned pram with my youngest sister in it. My other sister and I were holding onto the sides, and the four of us were heading to the grocery story, as we did every day, since we didn't own a car. Only THIS day, we four wore MATCHING FLOWERED SKIRTS my grandmother had made us!!!!! The wind was blowing perfectly, billowing our skirts, and my mother looked like a movie star that one wonderful day. She even had on lipstick. I'm crying looking at that picture in my heart's eye even now. Thank you for the memory, dear Diann....

 
At 8:27 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Oh, Katy, I can totally see why that became a memory for you! I could picture it with you. What a wonderful moment with your mom and sisters!

Thanks for sharing with us! Love you, girlfriend!

 
At 8:55 AM, Blogger Pam Sanderlin said...

We are in the process of moving to a different apartment. I am happy because the new apartment doesn't seem to have the serious mold problem that the current one does. (I'm terribly allergic to mold). At the same time, I've been grieving leaving this neighborhood of trees and birds. The new apartment is walking distance from school, but in a neighborhood that has very few trees or grass or green. I'm going to miss lying in bed, hearing the sparrows chirping in the pine trees outside my window. I'm sad that I'll no longer hear the parrots cawing to each other. I'm going to miss the screetch of the seagulls and the coo of the pigeons. I'm going to miss the vanilla smell of the pines and seeing thousands and thousands of migrating storks. These are all things that made living in my neighborhood special and memorable. It's silly that I'm grieving losing these small things, but I am. It makes me want to cry.

 
At 10:19 AM, Blogger Gourmet Candles Distributor said...

You write very well and it's great to capture a precious moment in time as I usually associate it with food and scents as well.

 
At 10:51 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Oh, Pam, I'm so sorry! I don't think it's silly at all. I think our surroundings are very important to us. Maybe you'll find some things in your new neighborhood that you'll love just as well.

Praying for you, friend, as you settle in to your new place!

 
At 11:00 AM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Diann, what beautiful little girls! My earliest memories are of the beach and the mountains when we lived in California, close to both. I never tire of the sound of the surf, and living here in the Ozarks, I SO miss the mountains.

 
At 11:42 AM, Blogger Denise said...

What precious, darling little girls! I can relate to the elementary school memory. My children do NOT believe that I walked several blocks to and from school every day. It was a rare and special day when I walked out of school to see my mom's car, warm and inviting.
My favorite childhood memory is sitting between my grandparents, watching Hee Haw and eating a bowl of Butter Pecan ice cream. I don't even like that flavor, but I knew it was my grandma's favorite, and for her to share it with me, I knew she loved me. I felt so loved and wanted when I was with them.
My favorite memories today are similar...sitting with my granddaughters, one on each side, watching THEIR favorite children's shows. I want them to know how much they are loved and wanted, too!
OH, and I have food-scented candles year-round. My new favorite is Be Thankful from Yankee Candle. It reminds me of my grandma's house during the holidays...that place where I felt most loved.

 
At 6:45 PM, Blogger Kristin said...

Wow, those are great moments in your house. I can see it from here! I think one of my greatest childhood memories is when my grandfather came to stay with my brother and me. I have never been a morning person, nor have I ever liked the thought of breakfast. Unless it's at 10 a.m. My grandpa used to greet me at six a.m. with a fried egg on a plate in bed.

I couldn't bear to hurt his feelings, so I'd get up begrudgingly and eat that rubbery egg as though it were tiramisu. Those hours must work for him because he's still going strong at 94.

 
At 8:44 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

I loved reading of your special memories--especially, the ones involving grandparents, since I'm a grandma now. I want to create those kinds of memories with our grandchildren.

One special memory I have with our oldest granddaughter is sitting on the swing in our courtyard and writing in our journals together. My husband took a picture and I treasure it!

 
At 10:45 AM, Blogger Carmen said...

What adorable pics. Such comfort in front of the fire and sitting with the dog!!! Thanks for sharing.

 
At 11:49 AM, Blogger Winter Peck said...

The memories imprinted on me the most were the summer reunions for my dad's side of the family. In the last 10 years it's become very clear to me where my love of storytelling came from. After a day filled with activities the whole family would sit around the fire pit and regale everyone of stories from the past and sing. It's those moments, and those stories that cemented my love of storytelling. It's those nights that I got a taste of what it was like 60-80 years before I was born. How family was everything to those small farming communities and how their lives were passed down in story.

 
At 3:31 PM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

My favorite memory from littlehood is paying in the rain under a huge umbrella with my BFF. We lived next door to each other, and loved to kick water int eh gutters. LOL Such a feminine thing to do. ;)

Love you, Di. ANd I love the pic with Latte. Your granddaughter looks so content. :) I wonder how'd she'd look with Shadrach in her lap?

 
At 6:48 PM, Blogger StarBeamdust said...

One of my favorite memories is from my life on the farm. Growing up watching the branches blow in the summer's breeze. The sun shining through the branches casting shadows all around. With me sitting at the base of the tree leaning into it like a well worn chair. Turning the pages of a new adventure. The babble of the brook gurgling nearby. Taking me far from the moments of the day and the failures that I felt from being such a burden on my parents. Reading and books took me places I have always wanted to go and I really related with the characters. Today I enjoy a good cup of tea with a candle flickering beside me and a book with a comfortable warm cozy blanket. My husband is in the other room watching a game or something but the breeze comes in reminds me of those precious memories

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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