I Am From...

I am from the blue swing in the garden,
The American Motors Hornet and other Junkers to follow
An unpaved driveway full of rocks
Where I would drop the hose to watch the water run down to the street
And float branches as far as they would go.

I am from the blue house that used to be yellow,
With the screened-in breezeway,
The basement I was afraid of for years (still am, actually)
And the concrete patio.

I am from the lilac bushes,
The Crab Apple trees that I adored climbing,
The Rhubarb patch and
The willow tree I planted with my bare hands. It died.

I am from Mother’s Day celebrations that the entire family went to,
With cousins as far as the eye could see,
And being afraid of escalators,
From Hilda and Fred and Eugene,
Carol and Robert and Rosalie.

I am from the chemically dependant and the slightly insane.
From Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
I am from being baptized Catholic
Confirmed Lutheran and choosing to be Born Again.
From reading the Bible for fun
And wanting to raise Collies and name them after Joseph and his family.
From knowing the Nicene and Apostle’s Creed by heart.

I'm from Saint Paul and Iowa,
England and Holland and Norway,
Germany and France.
The famous Kaufhold’s Sleycie Klosse*
(That tasted so good but sat in your stomach like a rock),
Grandma’s Pot Roast with carrots and parsnips (mmm, parsnips),
And Mom’s homemade Apple Crisp
(She didn’t bake often but when she did, Mom was a genius in the kitchen).

I am from black and white pictures for Mom’s camera class,
Family reunions where I was forced to smile,
Crabby and defiant in the background.
I am from the Tickle Monster and William O’Brien State Park,
Cuddling with Mom in the mornings,
Being dropped off at the Stillwater library to read all day.

I am from my memories and my memories are from me.**

I found this on Diana's blog and thought it was lovely and then did some searching to see who else had posted it. If you are inspired to try this yourself, here is the template. And here is Diana's version, Rozanne's version and LeLo's version.

*I have no idea how to spell this. I figured out that Klosse is German for dumplings but I can't figure out where the Sleycie part came from or if I'm even spelling it right. It was fantastic and one of my favorite foods at Thanksgiving. Even though you really couldn't move for an hour or so after eating it.

**This isn't in the original template but I felt like adding it. This was very difficult to write because I don't remember a lot about of my childhood. I would love to see what my sister and Mom would come up with. Perhaps I should challenge them and then I could post it for them because Lord knows Kari will never blog on her own.