Childhood Memory: Have You Ever Been On a Real Picnic?

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As a child, it was one of my favorite things to do. My best friend, Minnie and I would spend most of the summer together every year, even though we did not live near each other and never went to the same school. Our mothers were friends and so we became friends through them. I would go stay at her house half the summer and she would come to our house for the other half and we spent other week-ends and school breaks together. So, we would make a big deal out of packing a picnic lunch and taking a blanket and going off for several hours. Sometimes it was just down by the creek, or there was a grassy alley that ran behind my house. No cars were allowed on this alley, and the grass was always mowed by the neighbors who lived nearby. Sometimes we would go way up on the hill behind my house and sometimes when I stayed with her, we actually went to a well-groomed cemetery, which had private gardens, with hedges all around and benches. No one ever bothered us. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some homemade cookies and orange pop was our favorite. We would sit on the blanket and eat our lunch and talk about a zillion things. Minnie had three sisters, two older and one younger, but Minnie always came to my house by herself. I have no sisters, so we were very close. I was just four months older than she was. And then there were the family reunions, where everyone brought lots and lots of food and we played ball and swam in the river and those memories are so vivid to me. How I loved those family reunions and all the wonderful times with my friend, Minnie. I miss her. She passed away several years ago. It doesn’t seem possible.