Thursday, January 7, 2016

The Sounds of Childhood


It's so amazing how sounds have huge impacts on our lives.

Have you ever thought about that?

Last night, as I sat at my computer, about to write today's post, the sounds of a passing train could be heard.

We don't live in close proximity to railroad tracks but on quiet nights, such a this, sounds travel.

When I heard the rather mournful whistle of the train passing through this town, it propelled me back to childhood at my maternal grandmother's house.



Often at night when I stayed over there as a child or as a young teenager, the train passed by. 

As it sped by on the tracks, it made the exact same kind of penetrating sound that exploded and broke the silence of the night.

It made me think of Grandma and how much I miss her as well as all the other loved ones who are now gone from this life.

The ache in the heart never goes away, it just lessons with time and acceptance.  

Life, like a speeding train, goes by so fast.


WHAT IS A SOUND THAT MAKES YOU THINK OF CHILDHOOD?

8 comments:

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Susan, I can't believe you've been around 7 years and I'm only now hearing about you. Your blog is wonderful. You are an inspiration. Thanks for all you do. The photos are stunning.

We could hear a train in the distance when I was a child living on our family farm. Everyday I could smell hay in the fields, horse sweat, manure, bread baking or cooling on the rack. When I hear or smell these things today, I'm immediately back there, a child again.

diane.stetson said...

When I was a child living at my house I could hear St. Mary's church bells ringing each morning for Mass. Now when I hear church bells ringing anywhere I'm reminded of that lovely lovely sound. Our church just installed bells to be rung before MASS begins and I love that.

Nellie said...

I remember hearing the distant sound of a train when I was a child. Much more loudly were the sounds of the trucks as they went up the hill on the highway just across from our house! This was pre-Interstate days, of course, and that highway was the connector of the south to the north, so traffic was rather heavy, even by the standards of those long ago days!

marianne said...

I remember hearing the rooster crowing up on the hill. Someone on MacCarthur Street had chickens and a rooster. I would be lying in my bed, all cozy and thinking that I didn't want to get up yet and then I would hear the rooster. It always made me feel happy and safe....

Linda O'Connell said...

The wind up alarm clock's tick-tick-tick and then the frenzied ringing bell takes me back to my childhood home. Fun post.

Chatty Crone said...

Sometimes you ask the hardest questions - I don't or can't think of one right now. I do remember my grandmothers - and when we first arrived to see my mother's mother - she would always get us a bologna sandwich with mustard and a root beer - tasted like a fine steak.

Unknown said...

Hello from Spain: indeed, there are sounds that remind us of the past. The sound of church bells also remind me of my childhood. Keep in touch

Red Rose Alley said...

Your post was very close to my heart, Susan, because I love the sound of the train also and can hear it sometimes in the distance from my house. My grandfather worked on the railroad and it has special meaning to me. This was such a nice story about the train and how you think of your Grandmother and staying at her house as a child.

Lovely lovely post.

~Sheri

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