Capturing Memories

Lately, I've had flits of memories.

As a child, I lived in Bookland. I would read and read and read. And those books and stories captivated me. I would live inside the walls of a house right along with Arietty and her parents. And then I'd take the new ideas into the lives my paper dolls lived when I wasn't reading. I'd solve mysteries right along with the Bobbsey Twins & Trixie Belden. I'd climb up a tree and get into trouble with the toys in Enid Blyton's fairytales. And then recreate that world as much as possible in the myriad forts made with my siblings and friends.

I loved imagination. I loved the innocence of the old stories.

1. What Katy Did - the series. (Susan Coolidge)
2. The Faraway Tree, etc. (Enid Blyton)
3. Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore. (Laura Lee Hope)
4. The Borrowers. (Mary Norton)
5. Kilmeny of the Orchard and others. (Lucy Maud Montgomery)
6. Little Women and the rest (Louisa May Alcott)
7. A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
8. James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
9. Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)
10. Mary Poppins - the series (P.L. Travers)
11. ...this is by NO means an exhaustive list! But it's a good place to start if you want to kick-start imagination.

You lose that chance to enjoy innocence & book imagination as an adult, when reality sets in. When the books for your age group change.

And yet, because my love for the imaginings of my childhood still sneak through...I sneak in a read of one of the old books every so often.

And, lately, I've been paying more attention to what I love (not who I love - that I've always paid attention to.) And I find that the Emily inside me who loved the old books, is the Emily who still captures those fleeting memories in choices today.

For example, some things I love:

• whimsical designs
• deep yellows and bright, bold off-shades of green
• curved lines & blue glass
• antiques
• vintage furniture
• twigs & branches, driftwood, grasses, neutral-toned shells
• browns & grays
• frames & pictures
• books

I think I capture memories in the clothes and shoes and household items that I now choose for myself. I like that.

And, I really hope that someday, my children can create their own memories through reading & games and imagination. Here's to hoping the internet & other, similar forms of media don't creep in & take over...