Remember back, somewhere
Amid the soft smell of the rose bushes
through the dining
room window,
Against the sound of Christmas carols
on the old stereo
warming December,
The delicious feeling of the summer
sprinklers
Between faded images of red mittens, held
together by a long string
Of
tights, of cuffed jeans three sizes too large
Through the pieces of half-forgotten days
The jumbled laughing memories sweet with
time
The sights and sounds and feelings
Of
those children that we were, of the parents who taught us
Of
the love that made us as we are
The images come together, the portrait
takes dimension
The roses fill our eyes and ears, the song
returns
And we laugh and weep as the heart recalls
again…
Life at 1860 Yalecrest has never been dull
in fact
Even our first recollections are muddled
together
In
a sort of bright panorama
Of
a living room carpeted with brown burlap,
Chocolate
brown and olive-green walls,
A
Peter Max bedroom
Not being able to reach the sink
Airplane tickets when Daddy came home
“A Tub Full of Good Wishes to You”
Ballerinas in new slips
Of the ever-present questions:
Can
cherry pits be consumed via the nose?
Can
a jar of honey balance on a pointed object?
How
much air does it take to blow out the cannonballs? - Spence
How
is it possible for the wad of gum to transfer from the
mouth
to the hair in just one short night?
How
long can Sue stand in an ant pile without being consumed?
How we lived those days, spent those
seasons
Our dreams and aspirations did not extend
beyond the morrow,
We
concerned ourselves only with the plans for Saturday,
Which
game to play first, what candy to buy at Family Brity
What
shall we do to the babysitter when Mama and Daddy leave tonight?
Certain
it will be worth tomorrow’s forced apology
And
where do you think they will hide the Christmas loot this year?
For
weeks Linda’s sled smelled like Miller’s living room
Sitting on little chairs in primary,
singing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree
Or
Autumn Bright and Gay to a chorus of Nuestro Padre Celestial
Feeling good and right and wondering
What
are you going to be for Halloween?
What
would we have done without 101 possibilities for Grandma’s
swimsuit?
Mama…
Do
Mr. Richards just one more time, please
And then Dad…
Let’s
sing just one quick verse of Love at Home
Slick
up those few dishes
You’re
cute as a bug’s ear!
Or
his ever-popular medley – Oh, How I Hate to Get up in the Morning
And
Have I Stayed in Bed Too Long?
It
will all work out - - and you’ll be amazed how well
Who could forget Mama’s
Well,
were you holding the banister?
Your
friends can’t come in – we’re working
You
must like it; you make it last so long
I
don’t know why Heavenly Father put you all in the same family
When will we be there - - 5 miles to go
till kisses from your Mrs.
It’s my turn in the front seat – why do I
always have the back?
The
three degrees of glory!
Steve always get a window and oh, kids!
Look at the sunset!
Weren’t trips fun from Flaming Gorge to
Mt. Shasta, Mexico, Church History, Israel.
A lively lovely bunch that kept Mom and
Dad hopping
For
who could ever forget – STRIDE OUT!!
Growing together – family height marks on
the utility room wall
Learning
the strengths, weaknesses, talents and dispositions of each other
Learning
tolerance of Amy’s constant singing
Learning
how to share Dad at a daddy-daughter date
Splitting
Mom six ways at back to school night
To
take turns, to say I’m sorry, let me kiss it better and I love you too…
The coming home for lunch
Dad’s old white shirts on backwards and
peanut butter honeys
Rainy days with plastic red loop boots
Nylon velvet shoes from Kids’ that wear
like iron
The waking up to Mother’s singing and
cracked wheat on the stove
Remember sliding down the stairs in our
sleepers
Eating
jello and having punch stands
Accidentally
falling into the sprinklers, into the mud, into the ocean
And who could forget that ever-beloved and
very handy “Hello Christensens’, Amy speaking.”
We laughed and we cried, read and saw
Ate Shepherd’s Pie and primary on chili
day
Drank Christmas egg nog with Sprite and
Dad’s Sunday popcorn
We slept warm and young and safe
We worked and played and prayed on our
knees in our little circle
All one with another, all as a whole, as a
unit
All as a family - - one firm and secure
the years through
Remember back all the way from Spencer’s
first tooth to Amy’s first date
From
Doug’s elbows to Steven’s swan dive off the car
From
test driving the Chariot without a license
To
hearing Aim the Dame, Soonie Boonie, Steverino,
Bindie
Boo, Dig, and Mom’s favorite – Biss
From
family reunions – Midway’s genealogy extravaganza
To
Uncle’s Hugh Jay’s mutton and potatoes
To
Christmas morning, to look-alike Easter dresses
To
birthday parties with pin the tail and who’s got the button
From back-to-school autumn leaves and flannel
nightgowns
To
snowsuits and snowmen and sleds and hot postum
To
Mrs. Sprout and Hawk Head playing hard on Saturday
Preparing
Miss Universe Pageants
To all fitting in the tub at the same time
From Bonneville Elementary to Clayton
Junior High
To Eastside high school with the trauma
pep club tryouts, play tryouts, madrigals,
And
accap. With Mama Funk, Groovy Gou, little league championships to the Pinewood
Derby
The picture whirls and spins, the images
pass, The voices echo and fade
We look to find the years gone, the
children grown and the Mother and Father out of breath
We stand for a moment, somewhat of a
timeless moment
Caught between a look behind us - -
remembering, and the long road before us
Realizing that it is now that time between
seasons when the children grow up
Leave
one world and cross into others, taking their past with them
And
they will add these new worlds and the lives they encompass
Onto this family of our parents and onto
the families of their parents
And
onto all the families of their parents before them in one unbroken line
A space less portrait of goodness, joy,
sadness, and the bittersweet discoveries
Of
earthly live, and earthly death and all that happens in between.
We six blessed children have indeed been
born of goodly parents
And the memories are so precious and so
lasting and so sweet to taste again
Only because our father and our mother
have loved each other and each of us enough
And
been wise enough to teach us in the ways of the Lord
To
bring us up in the way of happiness and righteousness
Let the roses die and blow, the children
of the house grow old
The voices fade, the footsteps diverge,
the house itself dim with age –
Yet if we so live we may keep forever
bright the spirit and life of our earthly home,
And
the love we have felt one for another these mortal years
Will bind us together eternally
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