September 21, 2015 - 16:45
I'm an only child. Growing up I didn't have a lot of friends. This may sound like a how to manual for lonelyness in children, however I wouldn't have ever said I was lonely growing up. Although most of the time I was sitting in my room playing by myself or reading in a small corner of the playground during recess, those are not the memories I treasure and look back on fondly. Instead, I remember the vacations my parents and I would spend in North Daktoa or New York with my cousins. I remember climbing trees and pretending they were my castle. I remember swinging in a hammock piling as many cousins in as we could. I remember both riding and driving a tractor around my grandparents farm. These are the experiences that shaped me as a person. Without them I'm not sure how I would have turned out differently, although I know I would have.
The place I equate the most with my childhood is a place I only visited once every year at most, my grandparents farm. This farm was build by my great grandparents when they arrived from Norway. The farm may just be a house to some people, but to me it symbolizes so much more. I remember having bonfires with my extended family, eating as many smores as my small tummy could hold. It was the location of my aunts wedding, where after the ceremony I took off my flower girl dress and ran around in my underwear because of the heat. We had my great grandmother's 90th birthday party there, with all her decendants flying in from around the country and even some relatives from Norway joining in the party. My cousins and I played in the attic, with my aunts old toys from the 80s, not caring that the toys were outdated. They were toys and we were children, no more was needed. The farm was always a place to have 'friendly' Skip-Bo competitions between the younger family members, Whist between the older ones.
My memories at the farm may not be large in quantity but they are vast in quality. They are the happiest childhood memories I can recall, and even as a child I felt the farm was special, a place where I felt loved and welcomed.