Monday 13 June 2016

For the boys



We made a nostalgia laden trip back to 
a farm in Tuscany.


The roses are still there - just.



The long cedar walks still
criss cross the estate



The bocce ball where we played in the cool shade
of the holm oaks,


 has fallen into disuse.


The river where we swam


and sunbathed on the rocks,



was in full spate after torrential rains.


The olive trees recovered well


after the devastating frost of 1985.


The picnic table at the belvedere 


 looks just the same.



 The views over your shoulder to Siena are timeless.

But it wasn't all about looking back.
We found new things
and went to new places
and maybe one day we could take everyone
and make new memories.


11 comments:

  1. Is the pastel or crayon drawing a self portrait?
    In which case, you have not changed much. Just added glasses.

    I don't like going back. My memories, and reality now, leave me feeling that the axis of the world has tipped.
    My husband, like you, would love to return to his old haunts. Different strokes.

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    1. It is Diana! But that self-portrait is eight years old now. The hair is grey the glasses are permanent and not just for reading and I should probably think of facing the mirror again for an update. I wonder why I am reluctant to do that?
      The memories became more poignant on my return when I started looking through the albums to refresh my memories of the previous visits. I hear a note of melancholy in my post which I wasn't feeling while there.

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  2. Dear Lucille, I liked your post's gliding between two time frames. I particularly liked the pictures of the sons when they were boys. Of course I recognized you immediately, too!

    Sometimes, when I am walking around my own neighborhood, I wander into my own memories of what it was like when I first moved into the apartment about 30 years ago. I liked the neighborhood and city better then, yet still find enjoyment now.

    xo

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  3. Things change and yet they remain the same. Revisiting is always difficult on some level and that time in a life, being the hub of a family, is so special, and yes there is melancholy coming through in that post for a lost time.

    I have three grown sons and these photos strike a chord, memories of their childhood which are so precious. I find it hard now to look at the photos of those days. Actually, I am sure I recognise some of the clothes too - Kid's Stuff, Clothkits? It's all Boden now...

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    Replies
    1. Definitely Clothkits yes, but I think we also got Mini Boden from its launch in 1996.

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    2. I had such fun with their clothes, using lots of colour, although when they grew up I did get some flak for that. I think they would have preferred plain, boring clothes.

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  4. Misty water-coloured memories - so precious. Not sure it's always a good idea to go back though. Lovely pictures of your boys.

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  5. Oh gosh, I am washed away with nostalgia even though they're not my children and I've never been to Italy except Rome with the old chap...

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  6. How clever! I love that so much of it was still there after so much time. Did someone mention Clothkits? That was virtually my entire wardrobe in the 70s!

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  7. Lovely ... I can hear the cicadas .
    No , I can't go back either . Our version became a golf course or two with 'easy access to a well-served airport' .

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  8. Always dangerous, going back to a place where one was happy. Yours didn't look so different, but I'm sure you could hear the laughter and voices that didn't come with you this time?

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