Junglepixiebelize - Recollections of a Gringa Pioneer
Nancy R Koerner - Copyright@2021 - All Rights Reserved
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Halcyon Days"
Sometimes in our lives, there is one particular photo that seems to represent – not only a specific time, place, or era – but maybe the very essence of who we are, what we have sought and found along the path, or the realization of a dream after dedicated pursuit. For me, this photo is all three.
I would put my baby in his little backpack, and pile the washtub of clothes on my head, using a little donut I had made from a small damp towel as a cushion, and walk down the hill to the river. Once at the edge, I would take a moment to hold that small boy in my arms, and drink in the reality of truly *being* in this moment-in-time, never taking it for granted, always with an awareness of the *here-and-now.* Then I would set him in the clear green shallows and watch him he slap his little hands on the surface, laughing and splashing, glorying in the clean cool water while I did the laundry. |
Once finished, we would venture a little deeper – my son clinging to me like a monkey – and dip down to submerge all but our heads. Then I’d stand and support his little naked body under his arms, and pull him around on the surface, back and forth, like a sailboat, much to his giggling delight. with an awareness of the *here-and-now.* Then I would set him in the clear green shallows and watch him he slap his little hands on the surface, laughing and splashing, glorying in the clean cool water while I did the laundry. Once finished, we would venture a little deeper – my son clinging to me like a monkey – and dip down to submerge all but our heads. Then I’d stand and support his little naked body under his arms, and pull him around on the surface, back and forth, like a sailboat, much to his giggling delight.
Stepping out of the river, the warm air seemed to dry us in seconds. Of course, going back up the hill would be a lot harder than coming down had been, as the clothes in the tub were now wet and substantially heavier to carry. But, after all, I’d been “backing” pigtail buckets of water daily. Pioneer life agreed with me, and I was growing stronger.
Yes, our family was full of youthful energy, and an all-pervading belief in ourselves. And no, it was not utopia. Every single day was filled with physical and mental challenges, and an abundance of grueling hard work. But it was pure living, sweet and simple. We had little, and needed nothing. We bathed and swam daily in the emerald waters of the Macal River, lived by the arc of the sun, merged with the colours of sunset at day's end, and at night fell into exhausted sleep beneath a star-studded black velvet sky.
These were the halcyon days. I was as happy as I had ever been in my life.
Stepping out of the river, the warm air seemed to dry us in seconds. Of course, going back up the hill would be a lot harder than coming down had been, as the clothes in the tub were now wet and substantially heavier to carry. But, after all, I’d been “backing” pigtail buckets of water daily. Pioneer life agreed with me, and I was growing stronger.
Yes, our family was full of youthful energy, and an all-pervading belief in ourselves. And no, it was not utopia. Every single day was filled with physical and mental challenges, and an abundance of grueling hard work. But it was pure living, sweet and simple. We had little, and needed nothing. We bathed and swam daily in the emerald waters of the Macal River, lived by the arc of the sun, merged with the colours of sunset at day's end, and at night fell into exhausted sleep beneath a star-studded black velvet sky.
These were the halcyon days. I was as happy as I had ever been in my life.