Dreaming of Silver Roses

Saturdays
Current mood: chill
Category: Life

         Can you remember a time when you woke at five thirty am to be ready for the US News and Farm Report? It wasn’t at all that you were interested in the dropping price of pork bellies. It was more about the rush you felt knowing that you’d soon be hearing that exciting refrain of “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends”rushing out of the tv speakers.

  You knew you had until noon to relish in Rainbow Brite, the Wonder Twins, Thundercats, The Justice League, Pound Puppies, and Tom and Jerry. Bugs and Daffy were longingly high on the waiting list. All that was missing was the Mickey Mouse Club! You could see the same cartoons and the same episodes a million times and that just made you laugh with anticipation like when the “beep, beep” poured out over you as the furious feet of the Road Runner zipped by the poor delusional coyote who found out over and over again that he was anything but “wiley”. 

            Your hair was free to stand in odd places like a dandelion on steroids until noon. You knew mom was way too into cleaning the house or getting your father’s “honey do’s” together to notice. Your pjs were rumpled not only from a good night’s sleep, but the roll in your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag which you drug into the living room so you could collapse within inches in front of the tv.   You had to be close enough to turn the volume low so you didn’t wake the folks prematurely. You were so close in fact that the tv picture seemed to be in pixels and you weren’t sure that animation’s artistic roots weren’t in fact in pointillism. So close that you could feel the static shock from the tv tube.

            The dog somehow fit snuggly in the bottom of the sleeping bag and his coarse summer coat tickled your feet and kept them warm. The breakfast of champions which seemed trite and rushed all week long when you scarfed it down in a blur on the way out to the car with your back pack was lovingly lingered over on your tummy as the milk dribbled down your chin back into the bowl with your legacy of the Cap’n.  

              Then you washed the bowl and spoon and carefully replaced them so that no one had any idea you’d already eaten and you could convince someone to fire up the griddle to make a pancake brunch!  You knew no one regulated syrup intake on Saturday morning.

             You felt an odd camaraderie with the slowly rising sun. There was a peace in the song of the birds outside your window and the semi darkness of the living room. You could smell the fabric softener from the sleeping back mingle with the carpet shampoo. You could doze intermittently between cartoon episodes until one came on that you hadn’t seen in a million years!

           Peaceful house, peaceful spirit, the freedom of a spontaneous day of leisure stretched out before you waiting for you.

           Then the kids and husband wake up. Sigh. Thank God for Boomerang’s

reruns of the 80’s and crazy dog who has to go “out” with the roosters.        

              I’m surprised Holly still make sleeping bags in adult sizes. No one in my house is as early a riser as the dog and I. And hey, did you know legwarmers and those long arm length lacey gloves with holes for your fingers and bangle bracelets from the era of Cyndi Lauper are making a comeback at Claire’s? I am so excited! …….For, for Abbey. Abbey wants them. She, she wants to be the rockstar. I am going to make pancakes now…

Currently listening : ’80s Pop Hits By Various Artists Release date: 2001-08-21