Memories of Casa de Campo: Memories That Matter

This post is also available in: Spanish

In this week’s ‘Memories of Casa de Campo’ our writer Carol Burke gets sentimental as she remembers special moments shared with family and friends in Casa de Campo. Even if you don’t know Carol, you will enjoy this article – it’s beautiful.

I have been given one moment from heaven as I am walking surrounded by night …. On my way home I remember only good days.
— by Roma Ryan for Enya’s song, On My Way Home

There are often important complex activities and meetings taking place in Casa de Campo, but as the time of life passes one remembers the little things that happen each day, and those little things bring gladness, laughter and pleasant memories.

If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment, a lot of people don’t appreciate the moment until it’s passed. — Kanye West

Little things can be just as important as big things. They add up. Little things, such as a mockingbird singing in a tree outside our front door every morning … when I stop to listen and appreciate the moment, it becomes a good memory. It is a little thing to remember, but each time I think of it, it makes me feel happy.

Mockingbird Tree

Memories come in all shapes and sizes, but if you try remember only the good times, it brings you peace of mind.

A good-times memory may be when your child finds a new puppy,

Adelfa and Clara with puppy, Tequila

Danny and his puppy, Skater

or it may be a reminder of the little lost cat who lived in a palm tree near our house and meowed at us when we walked by,

Little Orange Cat in a Palm Tree

or a memory of when our kittens liked to play with empty boxes. They were always doing cute things.

Larry Cat and Curly With an Empty Box

As I look back, some of the happiest memories in Casa are of time spent with my family. Often we had breakfast together at Lago Grill on Sunday mornings.

Danny, Ellen and Carol at Lago Grill

Some mornings we ran up and down the steps of the Altos amphitheater for cardio exercise.

The Cardio Stairs

Sometimes a happy memory comes from gardening. When we moved to a new villa, I asked Amado, our gardener, to plant a hedge of Pampas Grass. He brought a dozen or so tiny grass plants and within a few weeks, they made a beautiful screen for our garden.

A Hedge of Pampas Grass

Some good memories are of afternoons with friends at a Casa de Campo polo match ….

Millette and Vevita at Casa de Campo polo match

Mario with Carol Reflected in Sunglasses

… and watching the kids practice skateboarding.

Danny and Marco skateboarding in Vista de Altos

Casa de Campo was a village with an airport at its center. Everyone gathered on afternoons to see the airplanes land and take off.

The American Eagle flight from Puerto Rico was a commuter flight that brought golfers for the day.

American Eagle Commuter Flight

American Airlines flight 275 was the new flight from Miami that started when Casa de Campo extended the runway to accommodate a 727 jet airliner.

Watching the World Go By

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour. — William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Many thanks to Carol Burke for another wonderful article! If anyone would like to view Carol’s photos in higher resolution or download them, you can do some by visiting her flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelion-tree/

Also below are links to all of Carol’s previous articles!