Oh Gail this swelled my heart. I could see the little girl running her faaithful companion by her side. I bet you never caught that horse did you. I my friend think you caught something much more meaningful. I now understand more of why you are you. Love this. Hug B
This is such a sweet loving story. I could picture you running up and down those stairs - what a great Mom - You must have a lot of her in you. Did you ever catch that pony?
i thought when your story started you were going to jump off the balcony and see if you could float. which is exactly what my younger son did. he jumped of any and everything and was in the ER so many times that if it were today i would be arrested for abuse... loved your story and thanks for sharing. Helen is a cool name for a dog. we always used people names except for my first 3 dogs. Sticky Baby, Brownie and Blackie. then Joey, Fritz,Shadow, Tubby, Ginger, Max, Sarah, Baby, Cooper and Jake...
What a wonderful memory - and what a great reaction from your mom. Such a great way to instill the rewards of effort. It is sad that many of today's children wouldn't even think of that sort f entertainment.
A lovely story . I would be lost with pets . My Miggs is my best friend and keeps me company she is my sunshine even on a cloudy day ! Have a good day !
Compassion and understanding from a parent is a valuable thing to receive. We will always remember the instances when we did. It's too bad that they are so rare in their occurence.
I loved this story so much Gail, not only because you learned to entertain yourself with what was at hand, as most of us did in those years... no video games or gadgets to steal our creativity, and also because your Mom was the coolest ever... and encouraged your belief in yourself rather than squashing your efforts. Yay for her! :-)
January 17, 2013 at 2:35 PM
when I was very young. We traveled with Dad as he followed road construction and the money. Where he was needed we were. This meant different housing every month or so. Sometimes amazing houses or apartments, other times not so great.
I remember one house. I cannot tell the town nor the state but I cannot forget that house. It was a house where magic lived, where squirrels talked to you and little people swam in the bathtub.
The house was two-storied with an amazing upstairs balcony. I loved that place. I could go up and look down and it would seem like miles to the ground. I think I was about four years old maybe younger.
What I do remember is the way my mind wrapped itself around things and would not let go.
Having few toys didn't matter because Helen my first dog traveled with us. I remember playing with a small inflatable horse. On the balcony I decided to see if my horse could fly. It could not but it kinda floated on the wind like a leaf slowly to the ground. This sent my mind another direction. If it took that long to get to the ground, I could throw it over and run down to catch it. What a wonderful new game!!
After about my fourth trip running break neck speeds from the upper balcony and out the front door, my mother came to check.
When called by Mother, Helen and I both sat properly waiting to hear what Mother had to say. Helen and I thought we'd done something wrong...again.
Mother asked, "What are you two up to now? All I hear is running and slamming, running and slamming." Mother stood with her hands on her hips with her no nonsense expression. Helen and I both knew she wasn't handing out cookies.
I decided to speak up and explain what we were doing. We were tossing the horse off the balcony and if Helen and I ran really, really fast, we just knew we could catch that horse before it hit the ground. We just had to run faster. That's what we were doing. We just had to try harder, that's all.
Toward the end of my explanation Mother's hands left her hips. The mad left her eyes and there was a hint of a smile. She patted Helen on the head and straightened the bow on my dress. "Well," she said, "I admire your and Helen's faith and hard work. Go ahead, just try not to slam the door when you go out."
As Helen and I bounded up the stairway again with that poor inflatable horse I grinned at Helen and said, "See, I told you we weren't doing anything wrong!" Helen said nothing but wagged her tail all the way to the balcony.
23 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formNothing like mans best friend to help finish a mission :-)
January 16, 2013 at 4:30 AM
It sounds like Helen was a faithful co-conspirator.
January 16, 2013 at 5:27 AM
What a fun story about a neat dog and even neater Mom.
We traveled a lot also growing up. Makes it easy today to call almost anyplace home.
January 16, 2013 at 5:50 AM
Your mom sounds wonderful! What a fun story to read.
January 16, 2013 at 6:50 AM
Oh Gail this swelled my heart. I could see the little girl running her faaithful companion by her side. I bet you never caught that horse did you.
I my friend think you caught something much more meaningful.
I now understand more of why you are you. Love this. Hug B
January 16, 2013 at 6:52 AM
This is such a sweet loving story. I could picture you running up and down those stairs - what a great Mom - You must have a lot of her in you. Did you ever catch that pony?
January 16, 2013 at 7:06 AM
What a great story Gail, so much fun reading about your young life, Blessings Francine.
January 16, 2013 at 7:52 AM
i thought when your story started you were going to jump off the balcony and see if you could float. which is exactly what my younger son did. he jumped of any and everything and was in the ER so many times that if it were today i would be arrested for abuse... loved your story and thanks for sharing. Helen is a cool name for a dog. we always used people names except for my first 3 dogs. Sticky Baby, Brownie and Blackie. then Joey, Fritz,Shadow, Tubby, Ginger, Max, Sarah, Baby, Cooper and Jake...
January 16, 2013 at 8:14 AM
Oh I enjoyed this recall..wonderful! :)
January 16, 2013 at 8:29 AM
What a wonderful memory - and what a great reaction from your mom. Such a great way to instill the rewards of effort. It is sad that many of today's children wouldn't even think of that sort f entertainment.
January 16, 2013 at 8:44 AM
what a cute memory from a little girl who still shares here imagination with us.
January 16, 2013 at 9:05 AM
A lovely story . I would be lost with pets . My Miggs is my best friend and keeps me company she is my sunshine even on a cloudy day ! Have a good day !
January 16, 2013 at 9:24 AM
Super childhood memory and told so very well. I bet you and Helen were inseparable. How dear. Oma Linda
January 16, 2013 at 9:30 AM
haha...this is the magic of childhood...everything is possible...this made me smile pretty warm....my dog was my companion...his name was hobo
January 16, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Not only could I see you and Helen playin' on that balcony, ya took me back to my own childhood dog of fourteen years...Tiny. What a pal!!!
Great story as usual Miss Gail.
God bless and have a glorious day sweetie!!! :o)
January 16, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Great fun Gail . . . keep telling your stories, it is your "gift."
January 16, 2013 at 11:39 AM
What a great story of a childhood memory. Thanks for sharing it, Gail.
=)
January 16, 2013 at 11:58 AM
cute story, gail.
January 16, 2013 at 5:05 PM
Wonderful story, Gail. Made me smile. :o)
January 16, 2013 at 7:15 PM
Compassion and understanding from a parent is a valuable thing to receive. We will always remember the instances when we did. It's too bad that they are so rare in their occurence.
January 16, 2013 at 8:15 PM
A wonderful tale, Gail! Did you ever manage to beat that horse down? :D
January 16, 2013 at 8:16 PM
Great story! My best buddy was my dog, Duke, when I was growing up. Loved that dog!
January 17, 2013 at 12:46 PM
I loved this story so much Gail, not only because you learned to entertain yourself with what was at hand, as most of us did in those years... no video games or gadgets to steal our creativity, and also because your Mom was the coolest ever... and encouraged your belief in yourself rather than squashing your efforts. Yay for her! :-)
January 17, 2013 at 2:35 PM