SOLSC #4: Paradise When You're 7

In this challenge I am being reminded how important reading is in the process of writing.  I am learning so much going to blogs and reading the different styles of writing.  What is surprising, or perhaps refreshing, is how reading someone's post often reminds me of a significant story in my own life.  When I read Valerie Ruckes' post:  Gum Balls and Candy Necklaces I immediately remembered this special place.  I hadn't thought about it in years.  Thanks, Valerie.   

This is my grandma's cottage which
now sits abandoned.  

When I was a kid we used to go to Indian Lake to visit my great grandmother.  We'd drive for over an hour to reach her small cottage where she'd be waiting excitedly for arrival.  Visiting her was so much fun.  She had a kiln in which to fire the ceramic pieces we made.  My brother and I could sit for hours painting hot plates in the back room of her small cottage.  Looking back I chuckle at how clever she was at keeping small children quiet and busy.

We'd stay with her for a week to attend Bible School at her church.  We'd go skating, swim at the beach, and make new friends.  There was a certain freedom at my grandma's house near the lake.  My brother and I took paddle boats out onto the lake, went fishing by the pier, and wandered the streets barefoot stepping on tar bubbles rising above the street from the heat.  When I think back to things we did as small children I'm pretty amazed my mom didn't have a near heart attack.  Maybe she just didn't know.

Of course, one of the best parts of going to the lake rested two streets from my grandma's small cottage.  When we would go to visit, our parents would hand us each a quarter and send us off.  My brother and I would race down the street and around the corner.  We'd quickly step up the long cement walk and open the door to a seven year old's paradise.

Skipping into the small red building that looked more like a house than a business, we would walk among the rows of candy.  Yes, I said rows.  Yes, I said candy.  They had everything you could think of in this candy wonderland.  We'd look at the wax bottles filled with colorful sweet liquid, candy necklaces, the rows and rows of Zotz, wax lips, candy cigarettes, and bubble gum cigars that actually released a cloud of sugary smoke if you blew hard enough.  (Yep, those were the days before bike helmets, seat belts, and candy regulations.  It's a wonder we survived.)

My brother and I would pace around the store forever making our selections.  After great deliberation we'd take our quarter to the counter to pay and then dash outside to enjoy our treat.  Looking back now I'm grateful for those times when life was simple.  When exploring just came naturally.  When holding a quarter for candy in the palm of your seven year old hand held enough happiness to last a lifetime.