Why Am I Such An Explorer?
This traveling blogger started her
adventures around four years of age. She lived for the first few years of her life in a small coastal town not very far away. It had much history and was well lived in by a few generations.
She started by visiting with Oma, the elderly Russian woman whose backyard was adjacent to hers. Sneaking around the fence from the side with a hole big enough for a little one to sneak through, she would crawl down on her knees to get the vegetable garden Oma kept. Once through the fence, the little girl would walk through the patch of tomatoes, lettuce, and sunflower stalks that were so high they were touching the sun.
She started by visiting with Oma, the elderly Russian woman whose backyard was adjacent to hers. Sneaking around the fence from the side with a hole big enough for a little one to sneak through, she would crawl down on her knees to get the vegetable garden Oma kept. Once through the fence, the little girl would walk through the patch of tomatoes, lettuce, and sunflower stalks that were so high they were touching the sun.
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| Ariel View of Elberon, New Jersey |
She marveled at the colors
and the smells of the garden. This was
her first experience of the outside world by herself. There were no adults, nobody holding her hand
or talking over her four year old inquisitiveness. She knew that the outside
world, away from her own boring realm of cartoons, naps and playtime in a
guarded area of the house could have possibilities of sights, smells, and
activities that were beyond her imagination.
One day she decided to ride
her red tricycle through Oma’s garden.
This took her through the yard to the driveway that led to the street on
the other side of the house. She felt
empowered and not afraid to ride down the sidewalk past unfamiliar houses that
would lead her to that next adventure.
Just like Pippi Longstocking, Alice and Wonderland or little Jackie
Paper (friend of Puff the Magic Dragon) she would meet new friends and have
those memories of merriment to carry all her life into the boring adulthood
that she saw all around her in the grownups that she knew.
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| Elberon Train Station |
She made it all the way to
the train tracks, looked both ways, and crossed over. She was of course a mature, responsible
four-year old. No one understood how
articulate she was but just like any other life form on the planet, she could
figure things out.
She rode past the stable of
beautiful mares looking perplexed as this little human rode by on that red
tricycle and waved, “Hi horsey’s!” The beach was two blocks away and the smell of
pine and salt water inspired her to keep peddling.
The little girl made her way
to a firehouse with the fireman washing the big red truck. “My
bike is red is too,” she said. A young fireman smiled and looked over her
head. She knew in her little mind he was
looking for an adult that should have been minding her. She waved and mentioned she was running an
errand for her mother and quickly rode away.
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| Elberon Firehouse and Drug Store |
The excitement of being
sneaky was overwhelming but the little one realized she was testing the limits
of freedom that day. That didn’t mean
she couldn’t stop at the candy store with a few pennies she found in the yard.
Afterwards, it was a nod at the tracks, look both ways, and ride as fast as she
could all the way home.
This time she rode down the
street she lived on. The little girl rode up to her front yard where she was
met by the towering hedges. A great
place to hide a bicycle, she thought, as she heard her mom walking in those platform
sandals clonking down the driveway.
The little girl stood on the
sidewalk and pretended she was playing hopscotch as her mom grabbed her hand
and said to her, “Dear, you shouldn’t play outside the yard where mommy can’t
see you.” The little girl responded, “I’m sorry mommy. I was playing hide and
seek again with my (pretend) friend Marsha.”
She then was whisked inside
for another bout of a cartoon afternoon.
She reveled in the excitement of the next sneaky adventure to come.
Now, to my readers: This is
an actual event that I have a clear memory of from childhood. I am sure this inspired my adventurous
side. I thank God everyday, I was never
harmed and it goes to show you, how easy a child can wander out of eyesight. Either way, I learned early on that outside
play and fresh air when we are young could inspire our adventurous side the
rest of our lives.
Enjoy Living.
