Grandma's backyard and simpler times. If I could back in time ...

Besides home, one of my most favorite places to be when I was a kid was my grandma's backyard. If I could step back in time, this is where I would head to and spend the day.

"We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun." - Winnie the Pooh

My Grandma's backyard. How I wish I could go back there, just as it was in those wonderful days of my childhood. The picture above is from a beautiful summer day at her house when I was a kid. The yard and the house are still there, but different people have lived there for many years. So now it is not anything like it was when I was younger. But back then, it was a perfect place to play for my sisters and me.

I am sure a lot of people have a house, a yard, a neighborhood from their childhood that they wish they could go back to. Could you imagine how great it would be if you could? The feeling that would come over you the moment you stepped into the house or yard or street? It would simply be amazing and wonderful!

If I could go back in time to Grandma's backyard, I would head for her hanging swing. It sat right next to a big row of pine trees at the side of the yard. I would plop down in the swing with a glass of Grandma's iced tea and simply breathe in the fresh air and listen to all the birds. I would swing all my cares away.

If I could go back in time, I would go lie down in the grass under her big maple tree, the same tree my sister and I would pretend was the moon. We would pick the leaves from it and those leaves were made of cheese in our imaginations! This was back in the days when the phrase "the moon is made of cheese" was more common. I would simply flop down on the grass under that big old tree and stare up into the leaves and daydream.

If I could go back in time, I would also smell the roses on the bushes that Grandma planted by the patio. These were the roses of the old days that smelled so beautiful. I can still smell them in my mind.

If I could go back in time, I would also go pick some lilacs too from the huge giant lilac bush by the garage. And then I would turn on the sprinkler and run through it! On hot summer days that was so much fun, my sisters and I screaming and laughing as the cold spray of water would rain down on us!

We spent many hours playing in Grandma's yard. She only lived a half mile from us. We lived in the country and we could see her house and farm across the fields. We spent so much time there. Her yard was a slice of wonderfulness, where time stood still and the cares of the world were far, far away.

There is a wisdom that says there is nothing wrong with going back to simpler times. Grandma's backyard is a pocket of serenity in my memories where I like to go when I feel overwhelmed by worries and stress. One of my goals is to make my life simpler. But on those days that my life just doesn't seem to be getting simpler, I can at least calm my heart and thoughts by transporting myself to her yard in my mind.

Where is one of your happy places from your childhood? Like it is for me, I know the memories from your favorite places are cherished by you!