Early Memories

Gustav over at Nine Worlds brought up a memory that I hadn't given myself the pleasure of remembering in quite some time.

When I was a little girl, my teenaged uncle had the lousy chore of having to take care of me when he got home from school. I say lousy chore only because I know now that a boy of his age was not really interested in being saddled with his sister's kid when he wanted to go hang out with his buddies or make out with his girlfriend.

If he ever felt that way, I never knew.

I always felt so special when I held his hand as we walked to the park. He used to swing me and buy me "paletas" when the ice cream cart came ringing down the street. My earliest recollection is of one of those easy afternoons. We were sitting on a little mound of grass just up hill from the sandbox. It was a quiet day. We sat for a while as he patiently waited for a finch to come closer and closer to him. I can't imagine how it was that I sat so quietly, but I guess I must have. We sat there together as the finch gained some strange trust in this human man/boy. Eventually, the bird was perched on my uncle's hand. He held her feet between two fingers so that I could pet her. When I had my fill of touching the feathers, he released her.

I was so upset at him for letting her go!

He gave me his big goofy smile and throaty laugh, the one that still comforts me today. He told me something that I just remembered. "Birds aren't supposed to be in cages. They're supposed to fly."

My uncle eventually married the girl he used to make out with. That was a sad day for me. I remember being very upset while the wedding plans were under way. My uncle used to spend so much time with me and now he would be with this girl all the time. Sure she was nice, but was she going to let him play with me at the park? Um... no. Darn. Well, thirty some years later, they are still married and in love. I am still thankful for his throaty laugh and big goofy grin.

And for the memory of a day in the park.

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