Odacava

As promised, I’ll share where I came from, my favorite memories, and experiences. I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My parents were in their early twenties when they had me, I was there first. Blond fohawk with blue eyes, the doctor called it from the beginning; I’d be a heart breaker. My brother came a few years later, completely opposite from me, he had dark brown hair and brown eyes. We lived in a small town 45 minutes outside of Saskatoon, called Harris.

Harris was incredibly small; it was about 4 blocks wide by about 6 streets. We had one school where all the kids from kindergarten to grade 12 went. There was a rink, a couple ball diamonds, 2 parks, and of course a grain bin.  Main Street had the general store, a café, and a bank. My favorite thing at the café was their fries with gravy and orange pop floats. We used to ride our bikes up and down Main Street and all around town, numerous times in a day, going from one park to the next, racing each other, and riding from one friend to another’s. I have many great memories at the Harris school yard; telling secrets in the tree house, playing tricks on friends at the teeter totter, doing the helicopter trick on the swing set, and competing against the boys on the monkey bars.

As we got older, adventures got funner. We’d go quading out in the sand dunes, or in the winter we’d pull a toboggan behind a sled. My grandparents had a farm and I learned how to drive when I was 8. I always wanted my grandma to take me driving and I was eager to run errands in town or drive lunch to my dad and grandpa in grain fields. Any chance to drive!

My cousin Meagan would visit the farm every summer from Yellowknife (NWT) for a few weeks. We got excited about anything, even riding the lawn mower up and down the driveway. We’d spend a ton of time in the forest, building on to the tree house. We were busy little girls. We’d also go out to the pond behind the forest and catch frogs and salamanders in our rubber boots. We’d bring them back to the house and keep them in a paddling pool. We got the itch that summer, we laugh about it now!

Oh the memories

• Making quad race tracks in the stubble fields
• Hanging with my Grandpa Tom in the grain truck waiting for my dad to come by in the combine – I will never forget that harvest moon
• Country dances at the curling hall, fell in love with boys and country music
• Going into volleyball camps on the weekends
• Playing with my brother in the puddles
• Playing hide and go seek tag at the farm
• Picking raspberries that filled old milk jugs we strung around our neck with shoe laces
• Washing dishes and listening to my family tell jokes after a big dinner
• When my grandpa had just the right amount of rum, the old tunes from his university days came out
• Getting stuck in the mud after a big rain storm and having your dad come pull you out, haha, then getting stuck again!
• Playing baseball in the yard after dinner, so funny to watch my grandma round the bases
• Cleaning out grain bins with my best friends older brother, I confess, I had a crush on him
• Going to pit parties – my first french kiss in a car while the song “video killed the radio star” played
• Getting into pancake fights at the rink the morning after a freshmen party
• Partying till the sun came up

It was great growing up in a small town. I would not trade it for anything in the world. I truly believe it was because of my upbringing there I am the way I am. I completely relate to the Paul Brandt song, “Small town, big dreams”.  I had so many dreams and ambitions when I was younger, some of which I have acted on and accomplished, others I am still working towards, and I’m excited to achieve. Where did you come from, what were your favorite memories growing up? Did you grow up in a small town too? What  are your big dreams?

Cheers,

Krista