Special hideaway....

Did you ever have a special hideaway or playhouse? What made it special?

One of the main and continuous place was the barn. 

One year in particular when Karen, Dave, Jonnalu and Shelly cleared a large area in the loft of the barn they created with boards and blocks houses, a highway and a store.  The store was filled with blocks that had writing on them to make them cereal boxes etc to buy.  They spent forever preparing the area and items for the area.  When I asked to play too they made a two foot by two foot square on the highway for me to sit in and be the policeman.  At least I had a place.

I think as kids we need a place to be, and the longer it takes to build it the better.  So, that brings us to haystacks as being a great hideaway and playhouse. 

Dale and Larry spent days moving the hay bales and putting them back in tunnels and secret room configuration.  I always found them scary dark but I did play anyway and remember the secret room that we could slide into while others would go on by because it was just a slit next to the wall on one of the many turns and twists.  (I wonder now if this is why I have nightmares sometimes of not being able to fit through places to get away)  Building was probably more fun than the play but the play always ended when black widow spiders moved in.  They were easy to collapse and move on to the next one.

One of my favorite memories was one summer when we didn't have any chickens so the chicken run was over grown with weeds and we went in and built roads throughout the run.  I liked the sun beating down on the tops of the green weeds sending only green defused light on our private world.

Another area was the upstairs, even my kids enjoyed that one.  On the south end of the house, when it was not being used as a bedroom, was a great secret room to sit and read, or taste rocks, or be.  Especially when sneaking through the middle storage area or pulling up the trap door stairway.  It was brilliant of Mom putting the toys there for later generations to go play.

We also built forts inside the house, an age old needed activity, using blankets, sheets, cushions and anything else that could be imagined and used.  One year I took all of my and Mom's and probably Karen's nylons with runs and continued running them and then stretching them from ceiling to wall in my room so that I could be a spider in my own bedroom.  I had to dance crawl jump wind to get through.

I liked the cornfield.  I didn't change anything but I did go out towards the middle of a field and lay down in a row and think, watch the wind blow the leaves, feel the green sunshine seeping down to my new world.

One summer was very hot and I remember Dave taking a mattress outside and a sheet and fan, tucking the sheet under the mattress then turning the fan on to make it balloon up into a room. We could open a little tunnel climb in and shut it back up.  It made such a cool place to while away a very hot day.

I think everyone spent time on a ditch bank from time to time playing in the water or building cities in the soft dirt.  I know I did and so did my kids.

Then there is the top of the pine tree.  I only used it once but my brothers did it more often.  Sitting above the world has its attractions.  The only time I made it up to the little bend that makes a place to sit I stayed only because I was too scared to move back down.  However I remember sitting in the apple trees for hours at a time with our cousins.

I guess instead of only one place with an imagination a play house can be most anywhere.