Tire swing memories~

Many memories of  an old tire swing, at my grandma's house, (we called my Grandma simply, Ma) from when I was a little girl have been on my mind lately and I have no idea why.

Maybe it's because life was so simple?

Maybe it's because of the warmth of this spring is triggering my mind and making me remember?

Maybe it's because it was such a happy time of life for me?

I don't have the answers, but all I know is that the memories wont leave so I must write them down to make room for other stories and memories that are trying to take residence in my mind.

When I was a little girl I grew up around family. So much family! Lots and lots of family. My cousins were my friends or were my friends my cousins? I don't know. It was good no matter how you look at it.  So any way you look at it I always had lots of kids around me.

My "Ma" had a huge backyard and hanging in a tree in that backyard was an old tire swing.

We would hang on that old swing. We would swing on that old swing. When the big guys (my dad, uncles and older boy cousins) would come out they would push us so high that I'd swear we were swinging to the moon and back and to the moon again. We would swing so high that you could feel it slack in the rope/chain (not sure which it one it was)  but  I can still feel my stomach drop even just writing about it, today.

Another thing we would all do is we would twist the tire swing as tight as we could, while holding on tight with our little legs dangling through the big tire hole, and then have the spinners let go, and we would spin super fast and hold on for dear life. The rush was something that can't be imitated by anything else in the world!

The best part was when the summer was warm, it had rained, and the rainwater would sit in the inside of the tire and warm up to bath water temperature or hotter. You'd get to swinging and that hot water would get all over you and instantly cool you down while swinging. As soon as the breeze would hit you'd feel instantly cooler and the dampness was so refreshing.

We would all be so dirty when we were done pushing one another and swinging. Black rubber dirties a kid up really fast and I remember my bath water being black as a kid, because of it.

Oh, the laughter.

Oh, the fun.

Oh, the memories.

Oh, the family.

Oh, to be a child, again.

Barefoot & dirty.

I miss it all so much, but the memories are mine for a lifetime. I hold on to them tightly just like I held on to that ol' tire swing hangin' in the tree.

Thank you for the memories, Ma!

Toodle loo
Nikki Pugh