childhood memories

When I was little, I was never bored as long as I had someone else to play with, which occurred pretty often with so many people in the house. My next door neighbor, Laney and I were very creative in our many games. Some of these games included but were not limited to:
teenagers on a farm
babysitters club
restaurant
plays
fashion shows
school
office
library

In teenagers on a farm, we pretended to be orphans that were forced to live on our own. We had play food we used that we had to "find" and make soups and other concoctions in a big metal pot we found. We even had a little green tractor that we would use for authentication. Sometimes we pretended storms would come, and we'd have to seek shelter under our playset in the backyard. We'd carry towels and blankets out and cover it to make a roof and bedding to "sleep" on. Sometimes we'd convince my little sister to play too.

In restaurant, we created our own menus and dining areas all over my grandmother's house, and even the back deck. Everything had to be very authentic, with a cash register, glasses we filled with water for the imaginary customers, and aprons with dish rags for us to clean each table area. Our buckets of play food were used again.

Laney always wrote plays or put together fashion show outfits with my aunt's old clothes stored at my grandmother's house. We'd make her skirts dresses, with a belt around the waist and other crazy ideas. It was always complete with a curtain made of bedsheets strung on a rope. Everyone in the family was forced to attend and watch.

School was my all-time favorite of course. I had my very own room I converted into a schoolroom, complete with a dry erase board, posters, charts, subject centers, a religion table, desk, art closet I painted myself with bins and bins of art supplies, and 8 imaginary students. I had lesson plans and mimicked everything I did at a day at Annunciation Catholic School in elementary school. I even had mass on Thursdays. Every student had a folder filled with work that I copied from text books or typed on the computer, and was completed by my grandmother or myself. Everything was graded with comments written, and stickers for the highest grades. The "students parents" even had to sign a form attached, saying they saw the grades. I would stay in my school room for hours, lecturing to my pretend pupils. I could never get bored. I used to love going to the antique store a few blocks away and get school books to add to my collection. I could never have too many. I loved going to teaching supply stores, getting posters to hang. Everything in my classroom had to be perfect. I had a tree I decorated for every season with cutout snowflakes, flowers, or fall leaves. Stars covered the door with all of the students' names. I even asked my grandmother if we could adopt someone for me to play school with and be my student. Call me crazy, but it was my dream since kindergarten to be a teacher and I planned on getting as much practice as I could.

My life was never dull. I'm so lucky I had grandparents who would let me turn their house upside down to play all of my games. I wish my imagination was still as big as it was then.