The rules. Hey...its my celebration so I can do what I want!
Deal with it
This day was filled with nostalgia. Not only am I volunteering some time at PBI's Senior Quest (nostalgia and reminiscing event of the world) but I also made the journey to Southern Alberta to remember my dear Uncle Harry. Memorial services are just big family reunions without the potato salad. It was great to see many of my cousins, aunties and uncles as well as countless other shirt tale relatives that looked really really old. I kept wondering if they were thinking the same thoughts about me.
Driving to Taber we pass Vauxhall. Home of millions of memories of my childhood. My Grandma and Grandpa Johnson lived there pretty much their whole lives, so no summer was complete without a few days enjoying Grandma's incredible food and this sweet little southern Alberta town.
I told Dan we HAD to stop on the way home so that I could get some pictures of the places that I loved. These are just a few...
...the church that my Dad helped to built...site of MANY anniversary celebrations and summer church services
...the drive in on the highway...best soft icecream anywhere
...Great Grandpa Malmberg's park. He helped to build the coolest park in the world. It had HUGE metal swingsets, merry go rounds, a monkey bar elephant, a slide that looked like a light house, a 5 seater horse that rocked back an forth...
As we drove through that town, so many things have changed. It's different, but the same. The old metal playground equipment has been replace by "safer" ones, Grandma's house has been replaced by a new little townhouse, the gravel roads are now paved...but when I closed my eyes I could still hear, feel, smell, and taste...
-the squeek of the swing in perfect rhythm going higher and higher and higher
- the slam of the wooden screen door of Grandma's house
- old hymns sung by old saints
- the scalding hot metal of the slide on my backside
- Grandpa Malmberg's whiskers rubbing on my chin in a big hug
- fresh apple pie out of the oven
- the smell of peppermints from Grandpa
- soft ice cream cones melting down my hand faster than I could eat it
ahhh...memories
...so good to go back
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