Tuesday, November 10, 2020

~ My Roots~

 

Sometimes as we get older, we often think back to the times in our
lives when we were young and carefree and the world stretched
out ahead of us...I never knew just how lucky 
I was back then  ~ until those sweet  memories have started  flooding back.

I was born and raised in a little sleepy town in Virginia.  My parents
first home was in "town"...a small little place where everyone
knew everyone else and gossip was the common theme. I
can remember tagging along with mama as she would visit her friends
and family to find out all of the latest news...I would patiently entertain
myself while they talked and I would listen to their conversations too...I became a very 
reserved  & thoughtful child.
As a first born ( with no playmates), I spent more time with grown-ups than with
kids my own age...I really enjoyed listening to tales from my great- grandaddy and grandmother as they spoke of a different time and place and of
relatives from long ago ~ relatives that I would never meet... Listening and learning
has helped to create a love of history in my life...
The past has always been intriguing and the
area that I grew up in was full of history
from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War~ 
I loved it all!
I have always been an old soul... from the beginning.

Our little town is at the foot of the Blue Ridge Parkway and so was our little house. 
 My daddy loved music and guitars. He came from a poor family and never
had one until he married my mama...He was able to save up enough money to buy one then.
He had a good ear for music
and  he taught himself to play just by listening to songs on the radio. By
the time I came along, he had gotten pretty good at picking and
singing...It was always a comfort throughout  my young years
to hear him pull out his guitar and sing Johnny Cash
and  Merle Haggard songs.

 One day a friend of  daddy's  came down from the mountain to
see him...He saw a Flatt and Scruggs album on our kitchen
table and offered to trade a little Shetland pony that he had
for the album. I think I might have had something to do with that even though
I didn't know what was going on...The deal was made and I had my first
pony at 4 years old. She was a little Palomino and her name  was Sugar . We kept her in the 
backyard  with our dogs ...I can remember my parents saddling her up and  leading me 
around until I became comfortable riding her. She was mean, as all ponies are...She would bite me and try to
buck me off and a couple of times she succeeded! Sugar was the beginning of
my love for horses...they hold a special place in my heart and in my history.
I always had a horse from that point on and riding was always a joy...
I guess I inherited the horse gene from my mama...she loved to ride too!

~Thank you for reading this far ~ 

~T~


5 comments:

TheCrankyCrow said...

We've said it before, but I am saying it again....we are truly kindred spirits and souls. I, too, was born with an old, old, soul. I was born into a fairly poor family....When I was 3 and my grandfather died, my mom and dad purchased my mother's family's farm (house/barn built years and years previously by her grandfather and his brothers). By necessity, I grew up isolated and alone, and learned to entertain myself well. I looked forward to going into town once every 2 weeks or so when my mother went to the laundromat to do the laundry. I turned inward, and to books...always quiet and reserved as well. Your post brought back many fond childhood memories....and ones that were not "fond" at the time, but became such when I learned to appreciate them. ~Robin~

The Burlap Owl said...

Hi Robin,
I am a country girl & a huge book lover too! ....We moved to the country when
I was 6 years old and that's where I grew up. I have so many
memories of that for future stories. :0)

Thank you so much for sharing your memories...We truly are kindred spirits!

Sandi said...

I love to read stories of how people were raised :)

Sandi

Saundra said...

I just stumbled upon your semi-retired blog enjoyed your hooked pieces (I'm a rug hooker also), and like you have a love of horses. I had one as a teen and learned my father sold it when arriving home from school and seeing him tethered inside a wooden wagon. That scene still hurts my heart but love of horses never left.

Hope you will return to your blogging as I will put you on my side bar and await new posts. Saundra

Lynda said...

Sorry but “ all ponies are mean” is SO untrue! I’ve had and ridden many ponies who were lovely and we had two Welsh mares for my boys that were absolute pets..just like dogs and SO SAFE! Our donkey was a dream, too...and I can honestly say I trusted them all....
Currently have three horses....all fine...