The Old Cellar

Childhood Memories

 

When I was growing up, my Grandparent’s house was where the family would gather.  Sundays and Holidays were spent with a myriad of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.  We had a large family, and there were people from every age at these family get-togethers.  It is funny, my Grandparent's house was very small.  Looking back, I wonder how we all fit in that house.  I guess I didn’t care because I had other children to play with.  We were usually outside, even when it was cold.  Inevitably, the kids would be playing on the old cellar.

 

This cellar had very sharp-angled sides, and a flat roof.   It was made of rough concrete, and it had a metal pipe sticking out of the top for ventilation.  The surface was so rough, that it would snag your clothing if you slid down the side of it.  Which of course we did.  Some of my earliest memories involved trying to climb up on the cellar.  It seemed so tall!  And I can still feel the scrape of the concrete on my skin from trying to climb up on it.  Anytime that little girls wore tights they would be ruined by that old cellar.  And many boys had ripped pants and skinned knees from sliding down the sides of it.  It didn’t matter to us!  A little scrape did not keep us from playing on that cellar. 

 

When you were on that cellar, you felt as tall as a mountain and as free as a bird.  Your imagination would soar as you had many pretended adventures on it.  We would spent hours drawing on it using broken pieces of drywall.  In fact, we were probably the original inventors of sidewalk chalk.  Back in those days, money was scarce and kids used their imaginations to create toys out of rocks, sticks, cardboard, and any other material that you could find for free.   Those were some good times.  I am blessed to have those memories. 

 

Sometimes I wish I could go back to that cellar and be little again.  My family was all around, Grandma would be cooking something delicious, and the laughter and conversations of the adults would be the noise in the background.   I had no idea how much life would change from those simple times on that cellar.  Now, life is very fast-paced.  It seems as if people are too busy to have a conversation with you.  Our lives now revolve around entertainment, instead of creating our own entertainment.  Family gatherings are something that most people don’t have anymore. 

 

Life has become a lot more complicated than those cherished days from my childhood.  Maybe that is what is wrong with the world now.  We have become disconnected from each other.  We have forgotten that sometimes simple things are just enough to make us feel content and happy.  We have forgotten to value and cherish our family.  We have forgotten that we don’t need to be entertained by something from the outside world.  We have everything that we need to be happy and creative right inside of us, waiting to be used again like it was when we were children.  The old cellar is still there.  It is a reminder to me that my life can still be simple if I make different choices.  Sometimes I go back there and reminisce about those days that have long passed.  I savor the memories of the time when I was little and my world was small.  I am thankful that I had those times on the old cellar.  Not because it was such a great place, but because it represents such good times.