My family had all spent the day together at the park, having a picnic. At twilight, when the sun had dropped below the hill that overlooked the park and it was getting too dark to keep pitching horseshoes, we began loading everything into our cars. The table cloths and folding lawn chairs and foil pans of chicken were all shuffled and packed away in the dim yellow dome lights. Once we had everything squared, I started my car and swung it around, and there was one of my nephews, a little boy of about three, standing in the beam of the headlights, standing out there in the open, giggling. I was so startled that I jerked the wheel and went off the pavement into the grass.
This caused a great deal of commotion, and the boy was pulled aside and scolded for getting in the way, and I found my tires spinning in ruts in the muddy grass, and a bunch of us had to get up under the front bumper and heave and push until the car was free. And then we were on our way again, following one another's taillights in a long procession, until we merged with the whole streaming sea of lights out on the freeway. The nephew looked back at me from the rear window of the car ahead, his wet eyes red and sorrowful and sad.
I instantly liked this. It felt nostalgic & relaxing & it brought back my own memories just as you described. I could even feel that familiar tired peace when you got in your car to leave. Ha I bet in one of those cars going home someone's wife said "It was a good day and I think everyone had fun, but just once I wish we could have a family picnic without someone almost getting hurt."
ReplyDeleteWonderful writing! Thank you!
Yeah, that sounds about right.
DeleteYes, my reaction is like Cindy's, leaving nothing more to add for now but to second her thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis also brings back some fond memories of family gatherings, and the long drive back home after. The children all hurt themselves at the park, though, not outside out of it. Myself included, of course.
ReplyDeleteSometimes at these family picnics when I was a kid we used to play with jarts. You remember those? The lawn darts? That was back before there was a big thing about them and they ended up being outlawed. They were fairly dangerous. We had a few close calls with them ourselves. Luckily no one got hurt too bad.
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