Meme: 5 Things I Miss

Colleen tagged me with this meme last week and I've been very slow to get to it, for which I feel bad. I've gotten to the point where there are just so many things I want to write about and a limited time to do it in. I've never really considered myself much of a writer before; so, I'm a bit surprised by this.

Click link to continue reading:

First, the procedure:
Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1. Lyvvie’s Limelight @ http://lyvvielimelight.blogspot.com
2. The Cerebral Outpost @ http://thecerebraloutpost.blogspot.com
3. JustaskJudy @ http://justaskjudy.blogspot.com
4. Loose Leaf @ http://looseleafnotes.com
5. Black Currant Jam @ http://blackcurrantjam.blogspot.com

Next, five things I miss about my childhood:
I miss being the center of the universe. I was an only child of loving parents for eight whole years, and, frankly, I have to say I was damn cute. I could and would charm the socks of each and every susceptible adult in my life. Relationships are a little more complicated these days.

I miss my summers and weekends with Daddy. My parents separated when I was 3, so most of the time I got with my father was one on one quality time. Wasn’t I lucky? I miss the plentiful trips to Catskill Game Farm, Lake Taghkanic, and Mickey's Igloo, a locally owned ice cream shop. I miss making our rounds to see the various relatives and the important lessons in life, like proper proportion of ketchup to egg on your Fried Egg Sandwiches.

I miss living in England (Brackley, Northamptonshire). Although at the time I was very distressed to be living so far away from my father, my stepfather's military placement in England was a terrific experience for me. Living abroad seems to be much more common now a days, I always felt that it was a totally unique experience I was lucky to be a part of. I miss the beautiful landscapes and the friendly townspeople we got to know through our church. I miss the wonderful sense of history and important places to go see. I miss going to market and being able to go everywhere important on foot.

I miss our garden, the big back yard garden that we had while we lived in England. It was a big family project for us and we were all still learning. I miss adopting snails for pets and getting to know out neighbor's tortoises. I miss the kitchen experimenting it encouraged my mother to do. We spent lots of time baking together and she tried out lots of different ways to use up our produce and perfected the art of making my beloved black currant jam.

I miss the endless sense of time and adventure. Now time just seems to rush on by. Back then, an afternoon seemed like forever; it held so many possibilities. I loved to go off exploring on my own or just lie in the backyard hidden by the bushes. I would tumble through the neighborhood with cousins. On rainy days, I would look through my Book of Knowledge Encyclopedias for hours on end, memorizing obscure facts.

Finally the tags:
I am asking Catez, Ellen, Oceanskies and tapestrygirl to take things from here. I look forward to seeing their responses.