Life in the countryside or in a small town has its challenges. But we didn’t think about them when we were children. We focused more on the pleasures of everyday life, although we didn’t appreciate them that much at the time. Only years later, when we smell damp earth or see hundreds of tiny mirabelles under a tree, do we remember how good things used to be. What was our childhood like when we lived in the countryside or visited grandma and grandpa? I asked several people about it.
Childhood in the countryside? “I will never forget the taste of fresh milk”
When I start thinking about it, it brings tears to my eyes. Because it was an everyday occurrence, but now I remember it all very fondly. I remember today how my grandfather brought milk in a cana from a neighbor, then my grandmother boiled it and used a large aluminum spoon to scoop out the cream from it, which she then used for soup or salad. And my brother and I were addicted to eating cereal with this warm milk…
– said Ola.
– My grandmother had cows. I will never forget the taste of fresh milk, Sylwia added. – Evening milking, then pouring it into the can through a cloth diaper. In the evening, we sat on the stone steps, drank warm milk and ate it all with a roll with strawberry jam. Homemade, of course.
After all, hardly anyone thought about going to the store and buying preserves. Not only were they more expensive than home-made ones, but “we don’t know what they stuffed in there” – as my grandmother says. Almost every resident of a village or a small town has, or at least had it a few decades ago, everything right under their nose. Your own garden with potatoes, beets, carrots and dill, an orchard – even a tiny one – with cherry, apple and pear trees, strawberry beds, raspberry, currant and gooseberry bushes. Of course, “everyone had everything under their noses” provided that they had put a lot of hard work and heart into it. But that’s how it was done back then. Alternatively, “sometimes we traded with a neighbor. He had cows, we took milk from him, we made our own smoked meats, we gave him sausages,” my grandmother told me. For many, bought fruit, vegetables, dairy products and even cold meats were the last resort.
“We picked carrots and rinsed them in rainwater. Nobody cared about the sand in their teeth.”
– My best memories are playing in the yard until it got dark – Ania confided. – My brother and I would run after the ball, play jackpot with our neighbors, and chase chickens. And then we ran to the garden, picked carrots (wondering what strange shape we would get this time), rinsed them in the rainwater in the tank under the gutter and ate them. Back then, no one cared about brushing under running water or having sand in their teeth. Now whenever I smell wet earth, I remember those carrots.
I loved spending holidays with my grandparents. I remember how my grandfather was always busy in the yard in the morning and my grandmother was making breakfast. At one point she went outside the house and shouted to him across the yard: “Andrzej, get some chives for the cottage cheese!”
– Paulina mentioned. She also remembered fruit adventures well, although not all of them were pleasant: – I still don’t eat cherries because my grandparents organized “competitions” for us to see who could pick the most and gave us prizes: PLN 20 for the first place, PLN 10 for the second and PLN 5 for the third. So we would pick whole buckets and then sit in the gazebo and eat them. There was one season when they were all worm-infested and I realized it quite late. I’m still traumatized. On a happier note, I remember that there was a plum tree growing in front of the house. My cousins and I would climb trees and swing plums with the neighbor’s kids.
‘I have so many warm memories from my childhood in the countryside that it’s hard to say anything specific.’ Photo: Dariusz Kulesza / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
It turns out that such important children’s issues as fruit wars were an activity that both rural and “city” children enjoyed. As my next interlocutor, Patrycja, said:
– I have no memories from the village, because most of my family is from Warsaw. But my neighborhood was crazy about mirabelles. They grew everywhere, and that was probably the idea to sow Warsaw’s backyards with these fruits. And this has already become part of urban folklore. Although many people will say that it’s probably dirt, crap, etc., we used to pick handfuls of these mirabelles in the yard and stuff them into our mouths, and no one was ever hurt. These were our golden-orange backyard treasures. And sometimes they served as ammunition, in play, of course. We played war, chased each other around the yard and threw mirabelle balls at each other. Or we crushed them on purpose and scared each other with such sticky stuff.
I have so many warm memories from my childhood in the countryside that it is difficult to say anything specific. It was probably a bit dangerous, but it was great hanging around the farm, watching my grandfather teach me how to drive a tractor, watching them move grain. And I still remember the taste of home-smoked meats. It really was so cool, now that I think about it. I feel sorry for people who don’t have such memories
– said Kamila.
How do you remember your own childhood? Did you grow up in the countryside or nearby, or maybe you visited your grandparents for holidays? We are very curious about your stories. Share with us in the comments!
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
