Reminiscing and the Winter Olympics

Are you watching the Winter Olympics? We watched for a while last night.  The ice skating competitions are, and always have been, my very favorite.  I can remember when I was a child "ice skating" around our house in my sock feet, looking ever so graceful and balletic. ⛸️  😎  Go ahead and laugh, but you know you did the same thing.  😜  

  I love to watch these two skate, and I think Tessa Virtue is gorgeous.  They're probably on track to win another gold medal this year.   I went to my parents' on Friday, and had a good visit.  My dad is doing better physically than he was a few months ago, but I don't know if he'll ever be resigned to being an amputee.  I would have a hard time with that, too.  For the second Friday in a row, my mom and I looked through albums of old photos while my dad was resting.  I loved seeing pictures of the little house we lived in until I was ten years old and my sister was seven.  

  I think I was about seven or eight years old in this picture, and this was my maternal grandfather (we're standing in front of his and my grandmother's house).  For the first ten years or so of my life, my maternal grandparents lived right across the street from us, and it was wonderful.  I think my sister and I were probably over there every day, or at least it seems that way in my memories.  Their front porch had one of those vintage metal gliders, and my grandfather and I used to sit out there in the summer and eat Planter's Dry Roasted peanuts together.  :)  I remember this because my grandfather had a heart attack when he was 44, and he loved salty snacks (just like me).  The doctor said that dry roasted peanuts were a healthier alternative for him, and I learned to like them, too.   When I was around ten years old, my grandparents moved to a new house across town, and my best friend next door moved away, too.  I can still remember how bereft I felt; the neighborhood definitely didn't feel the same after they left.  Soon however, we moved to our new house, too, and thus ended  that chapter of my life.  I'll always remember those fun times, though.  We lived on a small street, with small houses and everyone seemed to know everyone else.  With us kids, there was lots of bicycle riding, roller skating, playing tag and hide 'n seek, building playhouses with blankets, and climbing trees.  Yes, those were fun times.   Sadly, my grandfather died when I was twelve, and he was only 51 years old.  He had a second, major heart attack, and he never regained consciousness.  It was a big loss to our whole family because he was a wonderful person.  I love to hear my mom's stories about growing up in that neighborhood, and her life with my grandparents and my uncle and their cousins, who lived in Virginia.  

  We came across this picture of my mom and I two weeks ago.  Don't we look like sisters?  I just couldn't get over how young we both looked.  I found a date on the back, and I was 23 years old in this picture.  This was taken just two years before I met my DH, Mr. Forest Manor.  Oh, how the years have flown by.   Do you like to reminisce?  What are your favorite childhood memories?   I hope you have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend!   Hugs,