scenes from a childhood.

I just got back last night from a 4-day trip back to my hometown to attend my nephew's wedding. On the way home yesterday, we drove back through my old neighborhood, past my school, the church in which I was baptized, the grocery store where my mother used to shop for whatever she could afford that day to feed our family, my grandparents' big house on the corner, the ice cream stand, the stream where I used to catch crayfish and the field where we used to fly flimsy paper kites, the backroads of bubbling tar where I would ride my hand-me-down bike, and the uncharted woods where I would spend hours in the realm of my imagination climbing trees, daydreaming and trying rise up above my common life. I'd make myself dizzy spinning circles on the tire swing and run home at the end of the day upon hearing my mother's call to supper, scratching my legs on the blackberry bushes that tangled amongst the fences underneath the tall, silent trees.

I'm not that little girl anymore. And the man who now lives in my childhood home has cut down the big maple on the hill in whose arms I used to sit cradled, drowsy and dreaming, giving names, not numbers to the stars. The same tree in which my Dad inscribed the names of his four children and the dates of our births.

Bittersweet. Bittersweet.

This was taken in all of 5 seconds, obviously. I had to run to dinner at my dads house so by the time I finished and ran to the store, it was already late. Plus? I didn't even START packing until 10:30pm. Fun!

Quickly threw a bunch of stuff in my bag, crossing my fingers I didn't forget anything, and I'm done. I'm sure somewhere along the 6.5 hour drive up there, I'll remember what I forgot. I think I remembered the most important stuff at least! Got the hiking shoes!

Won't have internet access up there and no laptop so I'll be taking photos and will have to upload them when I get back on Sunday. I'll try to upload a few cameraphone pics here and there to tell you guys I'm still alive.

We are planning on hiking Mt. Washington on Friday but the weather is getting crappier. Saturday is forecasted to be a lot nicer so we're debating pushing off the hike until Saturday. I'm sure we can find ways to keep ourselves occupied in the meantime.

And on that note... I have to wake up in 5 hours. So I'm going to attempt to get at least a cat nap in.

Have a great weekend everyone!