Elephant Ears

While growing up as a grandchild to my grandparents in Northern Idaho, I loved how their back yard was huge, full of such nature! There was a endless wall of this tall plant called "Elephant Ears". Very much like a jungle to the child's imagination. We would truck right out into it during those warm summer days when visiting. My cousins Trina, Cally Ann and my siblings would disappear into layer of huge leaves. I watched fearful for the random gardener snake, while my sister Dana trucked out ahead of everyone to be the first to discover the next childhood treasure, she was accompanied with Trina who was the oldest and the first grandchild in the family. While Cally and I often grabbed each other for safety, usually screaming at a moving snake. My little brother Derek would wave a stick to push the snake far away from us. There was a strong minty scented on those summer evenings. Trina and Cally's mother had the loudest voice of all the adults, as she could tell the best expressive stories, with tons of squeals and laughter. Her voice echoed out over the whole valley below our Grandparent's home patio, where all the adults were visiting, Aunt Vee (or Auntie BooBoo) was my most favorite story teller, I ate up everything she shared with her dramatics. Papa and Dad seemed to carry around a cup of coffee at all times of the day while moving around family and talking. Sometimes with heated discussions and bursting forth interactions from all the adults over a disagreement in a shared memory or story. Our Parents were all so lively, the energy of these family circles could be either good or bad within just a few minuets. To us kids, it was mostly looking like chaos so the world turned simple and calming hanging out in the elephant ears and taking our nature walks. Trina was the first to lead us into the outside world full of bugs and bees, she would point out deer tracks and talk about fishing. She even would grab trash bags saying we each get one and now we must gather things we see that are cool looking or different then when we returned to Papa's workshop we would lay out all our nature's keepsakes, things like an empty seed pod or a funny shape stick. Then as the 5 of us kids compared our stuff we got to learn what these things were, Trina loved rocks with different colors in them, she always found something so beautiful that amazed me! This youthful time in our lives helped us learn about nature, learning how to pay attention to the world around us. In the week I stayed at my grandparents on my own when I was 9 years old, I was walking with Trina in among the elephant ears just as my parents had arrived to take me home. I was flooded with a sick feeling in my stomach, I sadly realized I would have to leave this magical place. Trina exclaimed "Hey Little Dee your parents are here! COME ON! let go say HI! I bet you've missed them so much!" I froze in place looking through the stalks of the elephant ears with amazing dread. I pulled back away from Trina's hold on my arm and she turned back to me in surprise. "What's wrong? come on...?" She asked me as I burst into tears and turned to run in the opposite direction.I was trying to hide from my family. Trina followed me worriedly asking me to stop running away. I cried back "NO! I don't want to leave this place! I don't need my parents, I can take care of myself!" Trina caught me in a big hug as she whispered "You will come back, it's okay don't be sad. Let's go see your family you feel better once you see them." I gave up fighting and crying. I explained clearly what I felt in my gut. "If we go back to the house, we won't make it back out here again tonight." I wanted to stay out until the sunset turned the world dark again. I loved sitting on those big heavy rocks out in the open valley watching the sun disappear. Sometimes I got to sit there with my older cousins Trina and Cally while we quietly enjoyed the earth's colors. I loved my simple freedom to catch my life, I knew that once I met up with my parents again, all of that freedom was gone. THAT was why I knew deep down I didn't need my parents anymore. Trina watched me carefully as I rejoined with my family after her encouragement, suddenly my father was demanding us kids to get a bath and good to bed. It wasn't actually dark yet, I felt myself fall back into my trapped life. The sunset was skipped, It was what I would really miss the most. I walked by Trina saying "SEE I TOLD YOU, everything has changed. My life is over." She hugged me saying "Your life isn't over, just not as fun...I'm sorry Dee."  Whenever I remember those elephant ears I think of how I wanted to stay out there hiding in them until I grew up and could be on my own.  Those big leafy plants and bright green colors kept me from getting yelled at or told to go bed. Maybe that was the age when I realized that an imaginary life is by far better then the real one.