a memory...

"I am on my way..." I yelled as I ran out the door and let it slam behind me.

I crossed the large parking lot and looked around as I headed into the long, overgrown, dry grasses carefully trying to stay on the worn pathway leading behind the apartment complex where my family and I lived.  I jumped--actually... leaped-- over the drying puddle of thick muddy water.  I was on my way to buy a salt-laden, greasy cheeseburger from the run down takeout that sat in an obscure lot on the busy avenue that ran parallel to the row of buildings that was called Hampton Hall Apartments.  The anticipation of it's dripping juicy-ness was drawing me hastily through the thicket and lent me a bravery not felt before as I walked through the overgrowth with head held high to my destination.

It was my first "job" and I took it very seriously, as well as the decision of how to spend a portion of my earnings on me.  Just me.  Whatever I wanted.  As a mother now, I am impressed that a child of eleven was entrusted with the responsibility of tending to the needs of three young children for 6-7 hours at a time, and even more so that I did it well.  I shall never forget the feel of the shabby, green paper bills crumpled in my sweaty palm, nor the gratification of the knowledge that I had earned it.

I have since had the satisfaction of seeing the tally in my bank accounts swell with my earned wages many many times, but no monetary token has, nor will ever leave me with the same sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I experienced that summer evening. 

"I am home Mom" I said in a confident tone as I kicked the door closed and felt the cool air conditioning breeze hit my face. 

"Is that a stain on your new shirt?"  Mom questioned as I wiped some cheesy remains off the corner of my smiling mouth.

This was written as my first assignment with the blog group of writers @  red dress club.

 prompt provided:

Make a list of some of your most vivid childhood (or more recent) memories. (Maybe it’s an image of your father or mother doing something they did regularly; maybe it’s a visit to a grandmother’s house.)

Jot down a few memories and then pick one and write it down in as much detail as possible. (Take 10-15 minutes to do that…)

Part II

Now I want you to investigate what this memory means to you. Ask yourself the following questions: Why has this stuck with me? What did this mean to me at the time? Why did I (or someone else in the scene) react the way I (they) did? How does it feel to look back on it? How does it still affect me (or not)? (Take 10-15 minutes to do that.)