It was mud puddles and the defiant smearing when Mom said no. It was all that stayed when the hose shut off in some broken piece of driveway, couple steps from Fifth Avenue. It was superhero undies and a cheap t-shirt. Wasn’t it first barefoot days of summertime when Spring chill finally wandered off? Things were simple then, time was simple, nothing mattered but finishing breakfast as fast as you could to get outside, then staying. Nothing mattered except those last precious ten minutes when light faded and the sound of your name shouted from two blocks away echoed through the neighborhood, the call of home. Somewhere along the way things get complicated, we lose sight of ourselves, distracted by technology and some incessant pull towards what we’re told success means. Somewhere along the way we step over the mud puddles, avoid them to keep our shoes clean, we complain about summertime and the heat that rises, worry about air conditioning bills and the newest iPhone that may be coming out soon.
Same. However, we’re moving and every time I take a load to the new house, there are kids playing together in the street or running around the neighborhood with sticks. There’s usually one house with six or seven bikes out front because that’s where everyone is. It feels like moving back to my childhood, and I hope my kids embrace the beauty of it.
I too, remember the days of the street lights coming on as the call of curfew, roaming the town with my friends on our two-wheeled transportation, and not ever having a thought about safety as we do today. I was in college when Jacob Wetterling was abducted in a town 15 minutes to the west, and that all changed. I miss the simpler times, uncomplicated by fears of people intent on doing harm and the constant media barrage of all the negativity in the world. I'm looking forward to hiking and not caring about keeping my shoes clean in a place where I can escape from it all for a while.
a little emotional over this! makes me homesick for my family and where i grew up and appreciating those first days of warmth after a long winter. a good reminder that it’s okay to get your shoes dirty, breathe in fresh air, spend time with siblings and cousins and friends like family ❤️
I was just thinking about this very subject the other day as I was taking some pictures w/ my Poloroid camera. Like Jennica, my husband and I are also getting ready to move, from the area I grew up in. It’s so sadly different here now. Like you Tyler, my Mom used to call us in with a two-finger whistle that would echo and vibrate through the whole neighborhood when that same, waning orange light would start to turn to a deep blue. Now it’s just development after development, cluttered with Walmarts, more people, Starbucks, more people, meandering highways and ramps like rivers eroding it’s natural environment, more loud people, terrible chain restaurants, and more loud people. It’s too much... for me. It may be a dream for others, but it’s just too much for my spirit and soul to handle. I need simplicity. I miss those younger days when life was just. plain. simple. And it breaks my heart.
I'm not normally the nostalgic type, but I've really been feeling this so hard lately. I grew up roaming sagebrush and dunes, chasing lizards and jackrabbits on foot or horseback until my dad would whistle for us to come home for dinner. The most I remember worrying about was whether our chores were done every night (and as I got older, whether the cute older boy at the feed store would say hello to me).
I've always been drawn to the simpler things, but especially now, in these times. Art (in all its forms), the road, the land, and the sky, that's enough for me.
Just watched “The Call Back Home” on YouTube.... omg Tyler we’re you the cutest freakin kiddo. Such a beautiful montage 💙 Thank you for letting us into your world xo
Same. However, we’re moving and every time I take a load to the new house, there are kids playing together in the street or running around the neighborhood with sticks. There’s usually one house with six or seven bikes out front because that’s where everyone is. It feels like moving back to my childhood, and I hope my kids embrace the beauty of it.
I too, remember the days of the street lights coming on as the call of curfew, roaming the town with my friends on our two-wheeled transportation, and not ever having a thought about safety as we do today. I was in college when Jacob Wetterling was abducted in a town 15 minutes to the west, and that all changed. I miss the simpler times, uncomplicated by fears of people intent on doing harm and the constant media barrage of all the negativity in the world. I'm looking forward to hiking and not caring about keeping my shoes clean in a place where I can escape from it all for a while.
I feel like we finally need that Tyler Knott novel. Just a bunch of childhood stories. Need. Like oxygen.
a little emotional over this! makes me homesick for my family and where i grew up and appreciating those first days of warmth after a long winter. a good reminder that it’s okay to get your shoes dirty, breathe in fresh air, spend time with siblings and cousins and friends like family ❤️
I was just thinking about this very subject the other day as I was taking some pictures w/ my Poloroid camera. Like Jennica, my husband and I are also getting ready to move, from the area I grew up in. It’s so sadly different here now. Like you Tyler, my Mom used to call us in with a two-finger whistle that would echo and vibrate through the whole neighborhood when that same, waning orange light would start to turn to a deep blue. Now it’s just development after development, cluttered with Walmarts, more people, Starbucks, more people, meandering highways and ramps like rivers eroding it’s natural environment, more loud people, terrible chain restaurants, and more loud people. It’s too much... for me. It may be a dream for others, but it’s just too much for my spirit and soul to handle. I need simplicity. I miss those younger days when life was just. plain. simple. And it breaks my heart.
I'm not normally the nostalgic type, but I've really been feeling this so hard lately. I grew up roaming sagebrush and dunes, chasing lizards and jackrabbits on foot or horseback until my dad would whistle for us to come home for dinner. The most I remember worrying about was whether our chores were done every night (and as I got older, whether the cute older boy at the feed store would say hello to me).
I've always been drawn to the simpler things, but especially now, in these times. Art (in all its forms), the road, the land, and the sky, that's enough for me.
All the running free until bedtime, all the neighbor kids playing together. Bicycles and fake grown up games - where did all those kids go?
Just watched “The Call Back Home” on YouTube.... omg Tyler we’re you the cutest freakin kiddo. Such a beautiful montage 💙 Thank you for letting us into your world xo