Falling Spring Road

I finally got to do something with my Heathens today that the Asst. Zookeeper has always been able to do and I never have.

It's a normal part of conversations at our zoo for the Asst. Zookeeper to share with the Heathens something that he did as a small heathen and then drive us to that location for the boys to see. He went to the same elementary school my Heathens attend. Played on the same playgrounds. He's always been able to share part of his childhood with them simply because this is where he grew up. I've never been able to do that before today, and I've always been a little jealous.

Today, I had my chance.

The Asst. Zookeeper's cousin got married today in Chambersburg, PA - a place I lived for four years while in elementary school. It's a great town and I've always remembered it happily. After the wedding, I was able to get us from the church over to my old elementary school. We stopped for about an hour for the Heathens to play on my old playground. It was really cool to see my Heathens on the same swings that I played on and on the same sliding board.

We drove past my old house - which is now yellow instead of the pale green that my father painted it. And the two big maple trees are gone from the front yard. The cow pasture behind it is gone as well, replaced with a strip mall. But it was still my house. I could still walk through it in my head and recall where all of the furniture sat inside when I lived there. I could even tell you the color of the carpet on the floors and the designs on the comforters on the beds from 20 years ago.

It was a really great walk down memory lane today. And for the first time, I got to share that with my Heathens.