the jar...# 4

Where did you grow up as a child?

121 West 1800 South

Bountiful, Utah 84010

2100 square feet

built in 1955

red brick

four bedrooms

two baths

kitchen in the front of the house

looking out the window at dinner time

made for interesting conversation

steep driveway

covered patio in the back

large yard

.34 acres

chain link fences

 lined with red rose bushes

my dad built a cool little house

on a beam
eighteen feet in the sky

anchored six feet in the ground

we would sleep up there on summer nights

or retreat there

to get away

this house was brand new
we moved in

when i was 18 mos. old

my bedroom was in the basement

from the time i was about six years old

it was here

i learned how to

ride a bike

roller skate

bake a cake
scrub a tub
fix my hair
say my prayers
iron clothes
practice table manners

punch kids

double dutch jump rope

burp a baby and change a diaper

play the organ and piano
watch Pinky birth her kittens
then bury one

knit and crochet

mow the lawn

weed

get out of bed on time
get bossed around
do plenty of bossing

take a short shower

love and be loved

it all happened here

for me

i walked to elementary

junior high and high school

church

i was launched from this little spot

of stability

and

i would give a whole lot

to go back

one more day

with all eight of us there

...