pigtails suit me.

Date September 1, 2008

Sometimes I feel like a ten year old girl trapped in a grown up body. 

I still dream like a child and every so often I cry like a child.  The thought of Christmas mornings still thrills me and I still want to grab a Mason Jar when I see fireflies.  I want my Momma to be near when I’m sick and dancing with my Daddy will forever be my favorite pastime.

I wanna be a little girl forever.

I think that working at Camp Lake Stephens was one way that I channeled that inner child of mine.  I played in the mud there and painted my face for capture the flag and I sang out loud with no shame as I walked through the woods there.  And I sat up late at night talking to cabins full of little girls wishing that I could be more like them. 

I wanna be a little girl forever.

And every morning of every summer that I worked at that camp I braided the tangled hair of each child in my cabin.  Mine included.  I think that those pigtails gave us all a sense of family even if it was only for six sweltering days in a Mississippi summer.

I wanna be a little girl forever.

There’s just something about pigtails, isn’t there?  Something that screams innocence and hope and a little bit of mischief.  (Thank you, Pipi Longstocking.)  And I like the idea of all those things.

I think I’ll be a little girl forever.

5 Responses to “pigtails suit me.”

  1. Deanna said:

    I am so feeling this blog entry! Sometimes I find myself outside playing with the kids (Weston, and my niece Rhylee) and wondering how I grew up so fast. I mean, it still feels like yesterday I was spending a Friday night with Mama Doe, sleeping in the back bedroom with the windows raised and a boxed fan blowing in my face; waking up at the crack of down, eating toast and ‘home-made’ chocolate milk, and then running outside to play. I really miss those days and reading what you wrote just brought all these memories streaming back to me.

    Just in case you’re wondering, the ‘home-made’ chocolate milk I was referring to is what we use to call when Mama Doe made it with cocoa and sugar. It was the best!

  2. Frances said:

    oh I couldn’t agree more! And yeah, I am able to act like such a kid at camp too.. while still being a responsible counselor, or something. Play games, make a frog cemetery, put stickers on my face..

    actually, it’s when we don’t have camp and I’m just hanging out w/ our camp manager bryan’s son Gunnar (age 9, all boy) that I have the most fun. We have all out mud fights and make frog water slides and jump on the tramp with water balloons. I’m getting all lighthearted just telling you about it. 🙂

  3. Lou said:

    Amen! I want to stay a little girl too. I still think a large part of me is still living in that age but my body says differently. I love to play outside with Colton but I wear out way before he does. Thanks for taking me back.

  4. Dani said:

    I love to think about my younger days. My kids love to hear about what I did in those days. Most of the time they ask why I’m no fun anymore haha!

  5. Trava said:

    I hope I never forget how to be a kid! Luke and I ran in the rain not so long ago. Of course, I got alot more wet because I can’t run as fast as I use to. AND it is better to be a “use to be than a never was”. It was exhilarating, cold, and so much fun we did it twice! We were meant to be eternal. I think that is why we struggle with age and the aging process (the gospel according to Trava! HA).