Goodbye Games

I am sitting at my desk as twilight approaches and the birds are flitting past my window in a race towards their nests. The full moon last night was a breath-taking spectacle as usual, and I was mesmerized by it's spell. 

I remember playing in the back yard of my childhood home until dusk with my friends and sisters, turning a game of "tag" into our own. We called it the "sundeck game". Many warm Summer nights beckoned for fun.

One person was "it", and they would stand on the deck and call out the names of the people they would see. The object of the game, was to run around the house without being "seen". When your name was called, then it was your turn to take a watch on the deck. We tried to see who could run around the house as many times as we could, before getting "caught".

This lasted until the darkness covered our shadows and we were slowly called one by one by our Mothers to return home and get ready for bed. Our house was the only one in the neighbourhood that had a proper deck to play this game. And of course, we thought we were the only ones lucky enough to have imagined this game that belonged solely to us.

My oldest sister stayed at my house this past week for a visit with my Mom, who is gradually forgetting her family. We drove by the old family house, which is no longer standing (as well as 4 of the neighbour's) - as they were bought by a land developer who is going to build an 88 unit apartment there. It was a sad sight to see, which brought tears to my eyes and the haunting memories of forgotten games and friends. . . 

Here is one of the last photos that I took of our house that was home to me and my sisters for the past 49 years. This is a picture of the back yard. At the left side, you will see the "sundeck", surrounded by wrought iron railings that my Father made with his own tools. His friend was a contractor, and built this house for my parents. Where we live now, there are many houses that were built by the same friend and I often take walks to remember my past.