RURAL REFLECTIONS: Innocence of childhood

Published 8:00 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

In writing my book “Neff Road,” I was struck by the beauty and the innocence of childhood.

We come into this world a blank canvas and each experience is a splash of color added over a lifetime. We want a masterpiece at the end of our time here on earth. A portrait of us.

Over the years I have kept a log of wonderful things my grandchildren have said. How I wish I had done the same for my children. For in retrospect, I find they are even more delight in the remembering of each experience. They give my old life delight and laughter.

Oh, yes, I do a bit of remembering, but then isn’t that where we keep memories to keep us warm and to hold dear ones in our hearts? Perhaps, in essence, children are the memory keepers for each of us.

Those little girls who drowned in the flood often come to visit my heart. They impact the relationship I
have with my family by the lives they lost. I hug a bit harder. I love a lot more. They weren’t just the children of their parents. No, they are now our children as well.

When my daughter was first placed in my arms, I understood fear. Fear for her life. Fear for the task
ahead of me in raising her. Fear of the world that I hoped would be kind.

We protect innocence, don’t we? Baby animals warm our hearts and wake up that protective mode inside
of us. Why do we protect innocence?

There is a beauty, a song, in the simplicity of not knowing what lies ahead. Joy leaps in small legs. Giggles find our own. A small finger wrapped around your own awakens a love that has not been preciously experienced. A soft melody, a dance, a warm feeling that has no words.

The blank canvas full of color, curiosity, the smell of chocolate, and impulsive kisses. The innocence of childhood.

Pamela Loxley Drake is a Beaverton resident and self-described lifelong “farm girl.” You can contact her at pamldrake@gmail.com.