This will be different...

This afternoon Jeff and I went for a walk through the salt marsh at Rocky Neck. We watched hundreds of minnows glide downstream, saw four large purple jellyfish bobbing in the water, observed two ducks mating (that was interesting) and took turns throwing clam shells back into the ocean. We shuffled/ran through crunchy dead leaves like little kids and sat on a huge outcrop of rocks in the sun overlooking the Four Mile River. We were relatively quiet the entire time, just enjoying each other's company and the relaxing peace. So of course that meant my mind was reeling with past experiences (I don't think there's ever a time when my mind is actually blank). I passed a pine tree with those tiny pale blue seeds (I'm not entirely sure if they are actually seeds) and that reminded me of my next door neighbor's house growing up. I spent hours playing with April and Shelly in their backyard among similar trees...and that memory segued into the day I sprained my ankle back in third grade. Shelly and I had been taking turns jumping from this enormous dirt pile in the lot next door (a short walk through the woods) when all of a sudden, I landed on a rock, twisted my ankle and fell. What a surprise. I thought about my old swingset (see 2005 blog entry swingset) and how Ryan and I poured water in the dirt ovals beneath the swings, shoved popsicle sticks into the mud and pretended they were people swimming in the ocean.

Our old house had a wrap-around sidewalk from the front door to the side door. At the top of the sidewalk, where we kept Cupcake's food dish, there was a little divet in the asphalt with grooves in it. Ryan and I also poured water into that divet and let it run down and around the corner, taking out many ants' lives in the process. (Cupcake lived a long and healthy life, and on a side note, she died last month after 21 years. I had her since I was in third grade. In fact, she may have even been witness to my first broken ankle!) I relayed some of these memories to Jeff as we sat in the sun, but many of them silently played in my head as they usually do.

I thought about how Jeff reads National Geographic and how he is always so aware of current issues. He's up on everything that's occurring in the Middle East. He tries to explain the concept of "growing fuel" to me, and I listen patiently for a few minutes but then I lose interest. I hate to believe I'm selfish and that I only care about the issues/memories/experiences that personally affect me, but I suppose I am. I guess I'm just comfortable discussing or writing about the things that I can completely understand, whereas Jeff is willing to let new things in all the time. I am nostalgic and he is adventurous. I suppose it's the same way with people. I love spending time with my closest friends; he would be perfectly happy sitting with a table full of people he didn't know--and he would make the most of it even if he knew he'd never see them again. The two of us are different in so many ways but we balance each other out in a way that complements us.

Thinking back on these memories, I realized that on the way down to North Carolina, I had started a list entitled "100 Favorite Childhood Memories in no particular order...for now" and I managed to jot about 30 down before we had to get out of the car. Here they are!

1. Saturday afternoons with Dad and Ryan when Mom worked 3-11. A particular memory that stands out is our long walk at Hop Brook in Middlebury; our discussion of mica and archaeology.

2. Playing "space" with glow-in-the-dark Construx with Ryan in his room.

3. "I have an extra hand," a hotel employee informed us as he tried helping us with our luggage during a thunderstorm and power outage when we arrived at Yellowstone National Park in 1995...this statement was followed by Dad's "I'm sorry to hear that" and fits of giggles for hours (and years) later.

4. Friendly's dinners with Mom--I would always order the Chicken Lickin' Platter.

5. Swimming in the pool and going in my first hot tub at the Americana Holiday Motel, Cape Cod, circa 1985.

6. Camping at Rocky Neck, especially the group get-togethers at night with the Ruedes, Reks, etc. We would sing "Hi, my name is Joe...I work in a button factory..." around the campfire.

7. Playing in the "burger jail" outside McDonald's on Lakewood Road in Waterbury.

8. Any and every trip to the bookstore (Waldenbooks) at the Naugatuck Valley Mall.

9. Checking out the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, CA. http://www.tarpits.org/

10. Playing on our swingset, and later--in middle school--swinging on the swings while listening to Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men on my Walkman.

11. Going to Chuck E Cheese with Ry and Dad, especially jumping in the ball pit.

12. Shopping at G. Wizz with Mom and looking at the cool pens and stationery (some things never change!)

13. Snow days at Amy and Chris's house and tubing down the double hill in their back yard.

14. All the summers at Quassy Beach Club--Mom's pink lemonade, Fritos, the occasional stop at Dairy Mart for Hershey's chocolate milk.

15. Going on my first backwards/upside-down rollercoaster with Dad in Wildwood, NJ, 1989.

16. Shopping with Mom and Grandma at the Meriden Square.

17. Panning for gold at Sutter's Mill in California, 1992.

18. Hiking at Sleeping Giant with my My Child, Gretel, and Ryan's stuffed lamb named Babas.

19. Watching "The Dark Crystal" while eating Cape Cod chips in a brown wooden bowl and drinking Pepsi.

20. Playing Nintendo in Scott's room at the Ruedes' house in Reading, MA, 1989.

21. Tea parties with my stuffed mouse, Mousie, and my Holly Hobby tea set.

22. Playing Super Cycle on our Commodore 64 in 1987.

23. Checking out Aunt Marty's new house in Waterbury--Ryan and I each declared a room "ours."

24. Playing baseball (wiffleball) with the entire fam in the backyard.

25. Going to the Scoreboard restaurant with the Keeleys and playing the basketball game and pinball in the game room.

26. My Special Day with Dad to NYC because of my good report card--we went to the Doubleday bookstore, had a pretzel in the park and even saw the Hard Rock Cafe (I was psyched because it was mentioned in the "Baby-sitters Club" books!)

27. Going to the Cheshire Library with Mom and Ryan after school--I'd get lost in the Sweet Valley High section.

28. Making up the Lunchables song on the Midwest trip in 1995.

29. Christmas 1990 when Ryan and I opened our big gift together and simultaneously screamed "NINTENDO!"

30. Aunt Marty and Kevin's wedding, 1993.