There was a city park not terribly far from our neighborhood. There was a bridge that went across a ravine at the park. We never knew the real name of the park, but we called it "Billy Goat's Gruff". On a summer day when all parents were at work, an older neighbor girl would organize a day at the park. We were probably nine and ten years of age. The older friend was a "mature" thirteen. She would pack a picnic lunch of sandwiches, Dixie cup ice creams, glass jars of water and paper goods. We loaded it all into a red wagon and in single-file "marched" to the park for a day of fun. There was a group of trees and if you walked within these trees you would find a small clearing. Right away we would set to work, sweeping and dividing the area into "rooms", outlining the rooms with small rocks. We were a blend of The Boxcar Children and Ma and Pa Kettle. All day long we played, taking turns being "Ma" and "Pa" or the children which we named: Archibad, Gertrude, Myrtle... and other down to earth names I cannot recall. Somehow in the game of make-believe we would act out a cute boy friend coming to ask Ma and Pa for their daugther's hand in marriage. I guess we were on the verge of finding out what romance was all about... or so we thought!
I was usually "Ma" and cooked food like porridge... whatever that was... I just knew in old books people ate porridge. I made sure that there was plenty of greens and cornbread. I also made sure that the "kids" drank all of the their milk. Funny how we picture through the eyes of a children how family life should be.
These were good times...
I'm linking to Little Red House
for Mosaic Monday
