Cow Patty Days
Growing up in a small southern town…
in the middle of nowhere,
about an hour away
from all urban arenas…
It was a place
far from distractions …
allowing
all the little growing minds
to intensely explore
their childhood wonders.
We,
as kids,
had the unrealized
and fine opportunity
to use our imaginations
on a regular basis
and to discover
the goodness in a day!
I think about the handful
of treasured friends
in search of makeshift fun
in this tiny speck of a town
we had the privilege
to grow up in…
Sometimes…
we’d dress up
in the craziest of outfits
and pretend to be manikins
in an abandoned storefront
on Main Street…
(Pre-Project Runway)
Sometimes…
we’d pretend to be gourmet chefs
and pull together a 5 course meal for the parents
with whatever was in the pantry…
leaving behind an explosion of a mess
in the appointed kitchen .
(Prelude to Robert Irvine’s Dinner Impossible)
and sometimes…
we’d find ourselves in the cow pastures…
traversing a mine-field
of buttercups and cow poop…
with a handful of firecrackers,
and a box of Fire chief matches…
We’d all gather around…
honing in on the chosen patty…
and placing a tiny red fire rocket
right square in the middle
of its flattened muck.
Lighting the threaded end…
We’d run for our ‘stay clean’ lives!
The thrill of dodging the cow crap
Was such a rush…
Now…
50 years of life
has gone through me…
and sometimes…
it appears as if
those imaginary cow patties
are falling from the skies…
where crap sometimes comes from all directions
and life just plain gets hard
for a moment….
If wisdom prevails…
I’ll rewind
my attitude
to the good old days…
of sweet childhood’s simplicity.
with a smile and a giggle…
Remembering…
to look for the thrill in dodging all the crap
and to recall all of the joyful buttercups
that bloomed so profusely
in those fertilized fields.
May we all
learn to bloom like buttercups
through those cow patty days
and make the most of whatever season of life
we find ourselves in!
What a great story! I love your style! I’ll not only look at cow patties but at life a little differently now that I’ve read today’s post!! Thank you! ❤️
Thank you Kelly! I felt like it was time to spotlight the cow patty which has been overlooked for quite some time! Thank you so much for reading the stories!
I like this one! Sometimes you just need to think back to your happy place – helping you dodge the exploding cow patties. 🙂
Hehe! Yep… we all need to embrace our inner ‘buttercup’!
You have captured small town childhood perfectly. We could use our imaginations and have more fun with crap than any toy money can buy. I have lived your cow patty days and am better for it.
Isn’t it so true? It makes me sad to see how little kids use their imaginations these days because the toy is distracting them from doing so… and I am guilty of mindlessly supplying my own kids with these distractions. What a gift we were given to have had boredom to play with and discover the joy of wonder! I love you Patty and loved getting to see you this weekend!
I remember the cow patty days. So lucky to grow up where we did.
Weren’t they such an incredible treasure Carl? I miss those days so much! Who knows… if you see a girl in her 50’s tromping through a cow field… pull over… it just may be someone you know! Thanks so much for taking the time to read these Carl… it means so much to me!
I wouldn’t miss them. Proud of my old friend. Hope to see that girl in a field someday!
Maybe one day! Thank you for being such a support!
“Bloom through the cow patty days!!!”
Definitely a quote to live by!
Hmmm… maybe I need to make that a t-shirt!
Oh how I love the crap and cow patty analogy! So much wisdom in thinking about why or how it seemed simple and fun as children. I realize responsibility, experience, hard times all add to the firecracker-in’ poop…but I do think I can do better with simplifying and considering all the beauty around the crap. p.s. Have I told you lately that I love you? Xo-D
I love your thoughtful comment! Made me ponder it all over again! And I especially loved you P.S.!!!
P.P.S. Never enough And I love YOU and all of your incredible life giving messages to so many. Thank you D!!!
I love this, what is seemingly a “light-hearted” story from childhood…but chalked full of so much wisdom…in learning to be “content” in whatever situation we find ourselves in…LIFE is all about our perspective….time to shift our perspective! “SHIFT HAPPENS”!! Linda
Linda!!! You made me laugh out loud with “SHIFT happens”. Thank you for the sweet words of encouragement with a side of giggle. I’m so thankful you are in our lives!!!
How insightful and time appropriate. Laughter does make life sweeter even with flying crap all around. I do remember some of those “what are we gonna do today” times in that small town we looked forward to visiting. Ha
We had so much fun!
Love hearing this story, and the painting brings a big smile! Thank you for sharing the wisdom of your light-hearted childhood days 🙂