Linda Hicks, Distance Learning Student
I can still remember the excitement I felt as we drove south
along the two- lane highway. The air
blowing in my face was hot and sticky, wrapping around me like a damp
blanket. The Katydids made a loud
clicking noise that could be heard over the sound of the tires beating against
the pavement. My eyes traveled over the
white cotton growing tall in the fields that went as far as I could see. It looked like snow-white pearls floating on
a sea of dark green leaves. The smell of
fresh turned earth and fertilizer filled my nose. The cotton fields signaled that we were
almost there. The anticipation of seeing
my cousins grew stronger as we passed through each little town. The fondest memories of my childhood were
made during these annual trips to stay two weeks with my aunts, uncles and
cousins in
My Uncle Watson and Aunt Eva lived
on a country road outside of Bronwood.
The only neighbors were the fields of corn and cotton. As we turned off the paved road onto their
driveway, the dust flew up behind us. We
came to stop behind the house under the pecan trees that offered a respite from
the heat. The back porch was across the
back of the old farmhouse with rocking chairs and straight back chairs lined up
waiting for the family to gather in the cool of the evening. There were two barns, one close to the house,
for the tractors and pickup truck. The
other was down the lane that went through the pasture to the pond.
Aunt Eva came out the screen door to
greet us. Since her grandchildren were
our age, she knew where we would want to be.
She told us, “They’re all down at the pond.” My sister and I flew down the lane, following
the sound of the laughter coming from the pond.
Our cousins were jumping off the dock into the cool water, seeing who
could make the biggest splash. We ran
into the bathhouse and changed into our swimsuits. The hot sand burned my feet as I ran to the
edge of the water, so happy to be there that I hardly noticed. We played in the pond for hours, until we
grew so hungry that we went to the house for supper.
The nights were always fun. The air would cool down ever so slightly and
we would play hide and seek while the adults set on the back porch. Or we would gather in the front yard where
there were no lights and sit in a circle and tell ghost stories. Around ten o’clock Aunt Eva would call us all
in to wash up and get ready for bed. We
would fall asleep as soon as we lay down; tired from the fun we had all day,
confident that we would have just as much fun the next day.
We all enjoyed those
times together, knowing that in a few short days we would be separated for
another year. Each summer, I counted
the days until school would end for the year and we could make our trek south
to enjoy the family gathering and make new memories. The comfort of spending those days with
family made them special and unforgettable to a little girl from the big city.