A Memory

This random childhood memory popped into my head the other day and I thought I would record it here.

It was a dark, winter, school-night evening and head lights came in the laneway.

So so exciting!  Someone was here....we rarely had a visitor....and my older brother and sister and I were desperate to find out who was out there.

My Dad went outside and my Mom told us to stop looking out the kitchen window.  There was no way we would be able to see outside because the light in the house was too bright and it was too dark outside.....and who ever was out there could see us 'staring'.

She said to go into the bathroom and shut the door behind us....but don't turn on the light....just look out the window and you will be able to see who it is.

We raced.

My older brother and sister were tall enough to see out the window but I needed to step up onto the toilet to see out.  I was probably 6 years old.

We were in the black dark and I thought the toilet seat was down.

But it wasn't.

I stepped right into the cold water of the toilet bowl.

And then we laughed.

Howled.

Hysterically.

I think that's why I remember this so clearly.

I think it was the first time that I laughed so hard that I cried.

Of course my mother didn't know what was going on in the bathroom...but she could hear us.

She told us to settle down because the person outside would think we were crazy.

I found out after that it was just Milton Watson in the yard.  He had come over to show my Dad something that he had caught in his trap that day.

Brenda