Last week, my brother sent me some photos of my parents when they were in high school. There were five of them that he’d culled from a historical Facebook page and they were photos I’d never seen before. Both my mother and father looked so young, so full of promise. It got me thinking about how my parents have lived a full life of experiences, long before they married or had children. Whole years of friendship with people I’d never know, dramas I wouldn’t see or thrills I hadn’t shared. It made me sad to think I’d missed their youth and potential.
My mother played hockey. In the photo her curls bounce around her unlined face, her arms strongly holding a stick against her straight legs. My father played football. His handsome face stares out at me from the team photo, his smile wide, his eyes alight with pride to be included in the same team as his older brother.
So much of their lives have gone past and in time, who will remember these younger school years? Their wins, their losses, their expectations?
Janis Linford
Janis is an avid reader and began writing her own stories in her early teens. Today she writes historical stories about spirited heroines and heroes, thrown together with plenty of exciting action. She lives in Australia with her husband, three children and a tabby cat named Milli. When she’s not writing she likes to garden and paint with oils.
