I’m away on my sentimental journey this week and next. Today, I spent several hours in the little town of Knoxville, Illinois. My grandmother spent her whole life here, and I spent quite a bit of my childhood visiting her.
It was a magical place to me as a child! There was a wonderful lake just across the street and down a dirt lane. My brother and I were taught how to fish in that lake by our grandfather.
Because this was, and still is, a very small town, we were given lots of freedom to be out and about by ourselves. We had friends in the neighborhood, and we would take off through the pasture with our sack lunches, and have picnics under the large trees.
We would also walk all over town by ourselves, and go to the Saturday matinee, or over to the ice cream store. We, also, walked down to the town square Saturday evenings with our grandmother, to listen to the band concerts in the park.
It was such a special time! These are just a few of my memories. I wonder if you had a special place to go as a child. Have you ever gone back? Were you able get in touch with that younger you, that has all of those memories stored in a special part of your heart? I hope you have. I’ve had a wonderful time strolling down memory lane! I wish that for each of you too.
Until next time,
Linda
That sounds like a really great experience Linda. It makes me want to pay a visit to my home town!
It was a great experience, Patricia. Let me know if you decide to go visit your hometown.
Linda
What a great childhood memory of time with your family! Precious!!
It was a great time, Linda — lots of happy memories!
Linda
A trip down memory lane can be such a wonderful, rewarding experience. Remembering the good times, the fun times, the lazy afternoons and summer adventures, family and friends, special moments. I’m glad you were able to spend some time reliving those days!
Calla Gold
Thank you, Calla! It really was a remarkable trip, in many different ways, and I think I’m still contemplating its impact on me.
Linda
Small towns always seem like the ideal place to go to for nostalgia. I hope you enjoyed your vacation!
Thank you, Lisa. I definitely did!
Linda
What an experience it must have been after being away from your hometown for so long. You spoke of some things you did there in your youth, but what did you find had changed the most?
That’s true, Lynn. It was interesting to me to see which areas tugged the most at my heartstrings. So many things had changed, and yet others stayed more or less the same. What had not changed was the love that I felt for my friends and family members! Where I went to high school had radically changed, and I had to look hard to find anything that looked familiar.
Linda