I recently joined a women's writing group in which we have various writing prompts to stir up our creative juices. The latest one: you can guess by the title of this entry ;)
When I was in grade school many moons ago and as school's end was drawing near, I said to my mother that I could "feel the sweetness coming on". I am now in my sixth decade and my mother is well into her eighth, yet both of us still remember that little quote. She brought it up in conversation recently which has prompted me to ruminate on just what constituted that "sweetness". Did it mean that I would suddenly behave more sweetly? No, I think rather that it was more like what the actor Jackie Gleason used to say: "How sweet it is!" It meant that my days would soon be free from schedules and homework. It meant that I would be traveling to Vermont for a long visit at my grandparents' farm. Times of playing in the sweet-smelling hayloft with my cousins, over-stuffing my belly in the strawberry field, and walking barefoot in the brook all the way down (about a mile or so) to the general store/post office that my uncle owned and operated. My grandfather was the previous owner and postmaster until he retired to work the farm full-time.
But back to the good stuff! There would be time to slip behind the postal counter and rummage through the drawers for rubber stamps and ink pads. My hands would bear "Return to Sender" or "Paid". Time to run my fingers along the well-worn counter and inhale the scents of ink, paper and warm wood. Time to grab all the Orange Push-Ups and Pixie Stix that my cousins and I could ever wish for and head back up to the farm.
I have so many wonderful, cherished memories from those visits that will last me a lifetime of smiles whenever they are brought to mind.
