Oh, I like this post! You just reminded me of my first kiss, when I lived in Rupert and the neighbor boy, what was his name? Darin? Derek? Something like that. Mom told me many years later he asked her if he could marry me. We were seven. :)

Thanks for that.

You're welcome :) I think 12 was a really good year, but I've probably blocked out any bad stuff, LOL!

lying on top of each other in total stillness

I love the innocence of this and for some reason it evokes a whole host of other thoughts about childhood in me that I had forgotten were there. Thank you.

Innocent is right. ;) As a mother now, I'm a little jarred by the things we did and places we went as children. Anything could have happened to us. :)

I've heard so many people say similar things. I think all humans have done some crazy, scary stuff as kids that we're all amazed we lived through. Probably human nature. :)

well, we moved around so much that most of my memories are fairly specific, at least to the point where I can identify where we were because of what house/neighborhood/friend it's dealing with.

This is such a great post. When I was that age I was obsessed with reading every book ever written by Zelpha Keatly Snyder (is that her name, anyway the Witches of Worm author). A few years back I took a graduate course in children's lit and re-read some of her stuff and can't believe I liked it. Witches of Worm is very, very disturbing to read from an adult perspective. I think I've grown up to be too sensitive.

It was really disturbing to read from a 12-year old perspective, too! I have no desire whatsoever to re-read it, and I never read any of her other books because of it.

Me too! I love ZKS. My favorite by her was The Changeling, closely followed by The Truth About Stone Hollow...

Thanks for sharing those memories with us, lizardek... I'll be in NostalgiaLand all day, now! :)

12 years old, that's like 1,000 years ago. Richard Nixon was running for President against John Kennedy (guess who won). I bought my first 45 (Jimmy Clanton, "Venus in Blue Jeans"). I'm trying to remember if The Twist was popular then or if I was still doing The Bop and The Continental (loved to dance). I was reading all of Louisa May Alcott and crying when Beth died.

I still read all of LMA and cry when Beth dies!! :)

It's an obligatory once a year read, complete with tears. I was doing that about 2 weeks ago and Anders kept saying, "But you know how it's going to end". Men just don't get it, do they?

LOL! no, they don't. :) At least not our men. Mine rarely reads and when he does it's usually Henning Mankell or those Röde Örm books. I just read through all the "Little" books by LMA a couple of months ago as well as Jack and Jill which I've always loved. I know some people think they're the heighth of sappiness, but I can't help it. :)

No, they're not sappy, because although her kids try to do right, they so often have enormous temptations to go through and they're real human beings, getting into trouble, etc. I cry when Charlie dies in Rose in Bloom as well.