An Added Bonus

As you might expect, Steve and I put a lot of thought into house-sitting before we actually made the move. We considered all kinds of possibilities, changes, challenges, rewards, and a whole gamut of other things. One of the things I hadn’t expected, though, was all the memories that would surface.

Now there’s no denying that over the years a few things might have slipped my mind – especially in more recent years – but it would appear that they are currently returning quicker than slipping. Plus, the ones that are returning and what’s triggering them, is far from what I’d expect.

In our last ‘sit’ the main memory that surfaced is of being a young child and watching my mum mow the front lawn in our very first house. Then of me, a little bit older, enjoying mowing the exact same lawn on a warm British day, with an identical, but slightly newer, lawn mower. So what triggered that recollection? Mowing a small front lawn with a pusher mower – something it would appear I still enjoy.

Then in our current house (which we moved into over the weekend, and which has no lawn for me to mow), I’m reminded of how much I love living in a two-storey house. Something I don’t think I’ve done since emigrating here almost thirty years ago, and something I enjoy doing simply because of the fun of running up and down stairs. Strange, huh?

Then the thought of running up and down stairs as a child reminds me of Mum’s familiar comment about how many times she used to come and find me unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. Apparently I made quite a habit of running full pelt towards the stairs, stubbing my toe as I landed on the second or third stair, passing out from the pain and landing at the base of the stairs.

Which reminds me of… and so the memories go, one after the other, triggering all parts of my life long buried. The wonderful thing is, though, that everything that’s surfacing is making me smile or inspiring me to move forwards. How wonderful is that? I’d have been happy with just the memories.