This morning my parents asked me if I remembered traveling to Boston with them in their new Mailbu forty four years ago today--when I was only two. They said that I stood up in the car between them and announced in excitement "We're going to Boston in the Mailbu". I knew what the Malibu was but I surely had no idea what Boston was, or where. I was two and mom was pregnant with my sister Janice and despite having an unusually good memory and vividly recalling the car, I do not recall the trip.
Just prior to speaking to my parents I spent an hour and a half on skype with my five year old nephew "J" and his two year old brother "Eli" while their mom was trying to get some paperwork done. At one point "J" got a funny look on his face and informed me he remembered a dream he had last night. I asked him what it was about and he said losing his tooth (he called us about his first wiggly tooth last week).
But you didn't lose your tooth yet, did you? I inquired to which he excitedly replied--no, but I did in my dream!
Oh how I wish my dreams were so sweet and innocent rather than the nightmares and strangeness of late.
So to celebrate today being the forty fourth anniv of my first trip to Boston, however inane a reason for celebration that might be during a time of travel shut down and in honour of those cute processing dreams of childhood I share with you two delightful children's poems.
The first one is called Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Jack Prelutsky and is taken from a beloved book of nighttime poems called Lullaby Moons and a Silver Spoon edited and illustrated by Brooke Dyer. The book is worth looking through for the whimsical, artful illustrations alone and this poem in particular was a very well received classroom read aloud due to its visual hilarity. Ha--I still love it like I am ten!
Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens
Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking on my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced around my bed.
They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.
Jack Prelutsky
The second is taken from a book of children's poetry entitled Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems by poet Mary Ann Hoberman and makes me as nostalgic as my parents for the time which has passed since that little family trip when I was only two. And also so very grateful for the wonderful childhood I had which this poem reminds me of.
When I Grow Up
When I grow up, I want to be
a grown up who remembers me
And what it felt like to be small:
How much I liked to bounce a ball
And pump my swing high in the air
And think of flying everywhere.
How scared I was of doors that creak
or being it in hide-and-seek
Or if my parents had a fight
Or when I had bad dreams at night.
How much I hated loud machines
And slimy worms and lima beans.
What fun it was to dig a hole,
To make a cake and lick the bowl,
To ride my bike all afternoon,
To plan on going to the moon,
To find an egg inside a nest
And have my best friend like me best.
by Mary Ann Hoberman
Thanks for reading
Wishing you happiness!
Jill