David and I have decided that since we are waiting to start our family, it would be best to try to do all of the things that we have wanted to do before we even start trying. One of the things that David has wanted to do, ever since we got married, was to visit Huntsville and see his childhood. David has shared with me so many memories of him growing up in Huntsville and all the trouble he would get into. He would describe the house he grew up in and the ditches he used to crawl into and tell me how he would get in trouble after being caught. He told me about his Dad’s music shop, but for some reason I thought that was it to Huntsville.
We have been waiting for a weekend available to go and visit and after talking about it on a Thursday; we decided we would go to Huntsville with last minute planning. We stayed out pretty late on a Friday, but woke up at a reasonable time and hit the road. We were about an hour behind our schedule, but I am sure David planned it out that way since I am always running an hour behind. So we packed a bottle water and made some tracks. The drive was really nice, getting to see the Texas view all the way out. We saw some plantations and some small towns and just breezed all the way to Huntsville. We got into town and the first place we saw was the house he grew up in. It was a quaint little house that from David’s stories sounds like it was more trouble than it was worth to his family because it was an older house. But it was cute, something you could see David growing up in. He pointed to the windows of his bedroom and told me of memories sharing his room. He brought up memories of his childhood friends that he would get in trouble with. We walked me down the sidewalk where his brother dragged him on a skateboard and he jumped into a cactus like plant. He even walked me around the block to show me the little backyard jungle he would walk around in. It was so amazing to go back to my husband’s childhood and see how clearly he remembered everything.
After the house, we got to the park in the middle of town. He was telling me how he would save up and buy little things from the park’s gift shop. We bought some bluebonnet seeds and an Indian Hat. David yelled at me when I tried to do a Rain Dance in the parking lot. It didn’t even work, anyway! We walked around the park, holding hands, talking about his memories and then we saw the geese. When my husband was a child he was attacked by the geese. And wouldn’t you know it, they were trying to attack us again. One b-lined it straight for David and he kicked it in the head. I don’t blame it, you didn’t see it. The goose was overly aggressive. Then we drove out to his Dad’s music shop next. It was so great to pull up to it and have him tell me about how his dad has set it up and what he remembered growing up. Again, it was like I got to see my husband like he was when he was a little kid and that more than anything want to have a little kid with him one day. We walked around the town square and noticed that this town shuts down at 5 or 6 on a Saturday. We walked around and found an antique shop. We saw some play dolls that reminded us of how racist the south can be sometimes. I bought David a new knife and he bought me a ring. We tried to go see a pub that his dad used to play at but their sign said they opened at 5 and the bar keeper said they opened at 6. I informed them that I am sorry we misunderstood the situation but “Where we come from, in the city, we don’t lie.”
After all that walking and getting pretty hungry, we decided it was time for dinner. We went to El Chico, David’s favorite Mexican restaurant as a child. It was ok, but I totally understand the taste of nostalgia. It’s worth everything great in my mind and I know in his. We went all out and left there super stuffed. We drove home that night and had some more conversation and ended up finding enough energy to go out to play some poker. I lost my money but David won $2! Winner, winner- Chicken Dinner!
A day trip to Huntsville is exactly what the doctor ordered and I am so glad that we were able to do that trip before we decided to try for a family. It really showed me how David grew up and why he has so much admiration for his father and will always continue to. That day, I was able to be a little girl when my husband was a little kid, and even then when we were our childish selves, he was still my best friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment