My grandparents bought me a swing set when I was about 3 years old. It had yellow arms that stretched down to the ground with a blue bar across the top that held the different types of swings. There were chains that held two different yellow seats in the middle. On one end of the swing was a teeter totter and on the other end a swing with bench seats for two people. The swing sat just on top of the small hill between my grandparent’s house and my great grandmother’s house next to a small silver metal shed that my grandfather had built. Depending on which way you were facing you either had a view of the Baptist church up on the hill or a view of the chickens, ducks, garden and rail road tracks that ran behind the house and even my great grandmother’s yard and house when you looked to the left.

That swing set meant the world to me. It was a place where I could go to escape from the world. Even as a child I loved closing my eyes and taking in the sounds and smells of nature around me. I would swing for hours sometimes. My mind would be clear of all of the the chaos and worries. There is something about swinging on a swing whether as a child or an adult that gives a feeling of calm. When I swing, I feel somewhat free from the world around me.

I remember how much I observed when on that swing. My grandmother feeding the chickens or weeding her flower beds, my grandfather on the riding mower cutting the grass or washing the car and watching Granny in her yard raking leaves, sweeping the front porch or tending to the one or two stray cats that wondered up to her door. Sometimes, mawmaw would even come sit in one of the bench seats while I swung. Even as clouds passed by, I would watch the white billowy cotton looking puffs float by as I tried to make out different shapes.

There are many happy memories spending time on that swing. Even after I was grown, that swing still stood the test of time. I sat on the swing one last time when I was in my early 20’s. As I looked around I could still see my mawmaw, pawpaw and granny doing their daily activities when I was a little girl. Even as I closed my eyes I could still smell and hear the sounds of nature around me transporting me back to a happy place in time. The swing was finally taken down about 30 years ago. The memories of time spent on that swing set will always be with me and make me smile.