Things of Childhood

These objects each hold memories from childhood. The pictures show the maternal grandparents who raised me after the death of my mother. It was taken around the time of my birth in 1939.
I very rarely had a babysitter. They took me everywhere they went, whether to a dinner at a friend's house, followed by an evening of bridge, or to Gram's "Sewing Circle" afternoons. Somehow I managed to amuse myself and was never bored. I was always welcomed in these homes. The adults never talked down to me.

The other objects recall different moments of childhood wonder. The little vase bears a Japanese symbol in a circle of words which read, "Goldcastle Made in Japan." The beauty of this vase drew me. I studied its details and made up stories about who the lady and gentleman were. The lady was obviously a musician, and composed wonderful songs which I sang while she played and the gentleman listened. When the music stopped, I received rich gifts of gold, peacocks, and spirited horses.
Sometimes the man was her father, at other times her husband, but in my favourite scenario, he was a handsome prince who came to rescue the lady from a wicked magician. In the latter case, he had to cross the ocean between them and face many dangers. Gigantic sea creatures were, naturally, among these dangers. Since he was the hero, he always conquered.





















The seashell, ah! the seashell! Gram said an uncle who was captain of a ship that sailed the Great Lakes gave it to her. "If you put your ear to it", said Gram, "you can hear the sea." I did, indeed, hear the waves crashing on some distant shore, and heard mermaids calling.

Childhood is, or should be, a magical time, when anything is possible. Belief knows no bounds. As we grow up, the myths of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, fairies and elves (although I'm not quite sure these last are myths) are exposed. We enter the world of reality, which useually less pleasant and more complicated than our childhood realms. But we should never lose the ability to dream and let imagination soar, which means we don't become cynical, whatever trials adulthood brings.
We must retain the ability to shape reality with our best dreams and imaginings. How else do inventions come about, astronauts travel to the moon and beyond and scientists discover cures for maladies unconquerable yesterday? Hold onto reality, but take time to dream. Then make a plan to realize those dreams.