South Dakota Dreaming

“I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie.”

- George McGovern

As a child, we took plenty of vacations. We loved to spend time together as a family, but my father travelled most of the time for business, so it was a difficult thing to do. We often took vacations together to make up for lost time, per se. These have become some of my most cherished memories.

            One of my favorite vacations was one that I didn’t even know was happening! My parents told my siblings and I that we were going to go the pool one summer afternoon, so we had better grab our swimsuits and towels real quick-like. Equipped with the innocence of youth, we piled into the backseat paying no attention to the large bag of snacks and maps strewn across the front seats. 

            As we began to drive, our excitement waxed… And then waned. It was taking an obscene amount of time to get to the pool! We started to complain and cry thinking they had tricked us and were taking us to an orphanage to be dropped off. My older sister and I, being 10 and 8, respectively, promised we would be good kids if only they would keep us.

            Our parents assured us that we were not being dropped off at the orphanage, but they asked us to be patient. We were, but not happily. We weren’t completely convinced that the orphanage was not our intended destination. Those sneaky parents - you never know what they are up to.

            I remember distinctly passing the “Welcome to Montana!” sign. My sister, Alyssa and I, exchanged befuddled looks. Our parents then told us the plan – they were taking us to South Dakota for a week in a cabin. The relief washed over us as we realized our parents wanted to keep us! For now, that is. We were rough kids. And if you've read my past posts, you know that to be true.

            We came to the cabin – a secluded place in the middle of a wooded area. There was a stream running near the cabin. It was Americana embodied. There were steps leading up to a screened porch where rocking chairs sat, waiting to be used. Inside the cabin, there were rustic furniture items and mounted animals adorning every unused surface.  We didn’t see it as macabre or strange – we saw it as our own frozen zoo. We named all of the animals, eventually. I remember three antelope heads which my sister and I bonded with most. We named them Ed, Edd and Eddy after one of our favorite TV shows. There was an elk head mounted in the room where we slept, and we lovingly dubbed him “Dexter” after the TV show ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’.

            I remember my sister and I waking up long before the sun to go fishing in the stream with my father. Those are memories that still warm my heart to this day. After several hours of fishing, we would head back to the cabin with our small foam cooler filled with fish caught during the morning. We would then fry them up in a pot over a fire out front of the cabin. Us kids would love playing with the fish, but eating was a different story. We left that to the adults. 

             I remember going to a small tackle store in search of two things – night crawlers and a fishing pole of my own. My older sister picked out a fishing pole that consisted of a purple rod and a pink reel. I picked one slightly less normal. My rod was blue and the reel was a green dinosaur’s head. You know what, I see no problem with that. Forget the less-than-normal bit. It was stylish, and I knew it. That fishing rod became my most cherished plaything for years to come. The memories associated of fishing with my father on those early mornings with just the morning chorus keeping us company were my absolute favorites. Those memories occupied all of my daydreams.   

            Later, we would return home to our mother, who was then pregnant with my youngest sister, Lily.  We’d have the usual fare of fish or bologna sandwiches for those who couldn’t stomach the catch of the day. Later in the evenings, I remember singing songs by Vertical Horizon and Mandy Moore for our mother as she recorded us with our camcorder. I’d like to find those tapes now. I know they would be a hoot to see. I was a an entire girl band all on my own. Man, my hips did not lie. What whatttt. 

            We didn’t just spend all of our time in that cabin, though. We visited small ghost towns and Mount Rushmore. Visiting those ghost towns sparked a love that I still have for all things Westerns and cowboys. I am fascinated by that era of time and I know it began in South Dakota.

            That week is one that will always live in my memory, and now on paper. Or the inter webs. It is what it is. I hope that I can be as good of a parent to my children as my parents were, and are to me. I am unbelievably grateful for their influence in my life and all that they have done to make sure I was well taken care of and happy. I tell them I love them all the time, but I don’t know that they realize how to the extent which I do. I hope that when they read these stories, it will be made evident to them. I am so grateful Heavenly Father sent me to the parents I have. I am grateful that Heavenly Father saw me fit to have such amazing parents. They have provided me with a life of love and an unforgettable childhood. <3 <3 <3 <3 FO REAL. U DA BEST MUM AND DAD. <3 <3 <3 

-B