From the time we are small children, we understand that there is something special about memories that are made during the summertime. A couple of nights ago I started thinking about my own childhood memories of summertime. The girls were sound asleep... and the steady, rhythmic breathing coming from the couch in the next room told me that Beau had fallen asleep too. I sat in the darkness in front of a brightly lit screen, and with a few short clicks of the keyboard I typed... #1. I decided to put my memories in to words. Only the first ten, typing as they came to me. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, as I quickly began to retrace the steps in my mind. My first memory stopped me somewhere around the late 80's/early 90's. I found it tucked away in a folder marked with the inscription... "Childhood Memories: Summertime Edition". I flipped it opened to take a peek, and here are the first 10 that I found...
#1. It's nighttime and I'm in the back seat of a car that's driving down a country road surrounded by cornfields. I don't think this is a specific memory, but a collection of memories that represent an experience that I loved as a child. The windows are down and the wind is whipping through my hair. As I peer out the window, the fields are twinkling with 1,000 tiny lights. Lightning bugs. The twinkling of the field is mirrored by the grandeur of a sky glowing with thousands of brightly lit stars . I'm sure this scenario repeated itself hundreds of times throughout my childhood. I still love to drive down country roads at night with the windows down. There's just something about the smell of a field at night on a dark road, while the wind wraps itself around you. Pure. Magic.
#2. My dad and his moped. When we were kids my dad had this black moped. It was bigger than the small little scooters that you see now, but smaller than a motorcycle. There were several times this one summer, my dad stuck me on the back of that moped and gave me a ride to the public swimming pool. The thought of it makes me laugh out loud... seriously. I'm not kidding... right now I'm laughing. It makes me think of that scene in Dumb and Dumber. You know... when they're on the moped. Whatever, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we lived in rural Indiana at the time so it wasn't like we were fighting traffic, actually we were probably passed up by a few tractors. I don't remember why we took the moped, or how my brothers got to the pool for that matter. Anyway, speaking of my brothers and the moped...that leads me to memory #3.
#3. Same moped, different summer. In this memory, we're at our house in Chesterfield. It was a hot, sticky summer evening. We're a little older at this point and my dad would let us take turns driving the moped from our front porch to the small creek at the back of our neighbor's property, which was a pretty good lap. My brother, I won't tell you which one... (starts with J, and rhymes with posh), was driving the moped when he took a bit of a spill. My mom frantically leapt from the porch to run to my brother's side. Well, it just so happened that a group of Chesterfield hooligans were meandering by at the exact same moment. Those heathens had the nerve to laugh at my brother?! Oooooh, no! Sista don't play like that. My blood boiled. I marched out to the road and gave them an earful of the trashiest trash talk that my 11 year old self could muster up. That's right... they kept on walking. But not before I spit on one of them and my mom ran over to hold me back... sorry I got carried away. The spitting is just completely untrue, but I'm not kidding about the smack talk.
#4. The ball park. I happen to hold the opinion that every kid should have childhood memories that involve bleachers, dirt, sweat, and the stickiness that comes from half sucked lollipops, Fun Dip, and Big League Chew. I probably won't be sticking my kids on the back of a moped any time soon, but I'm firm on this one. My babies will have memories of the ball park.
#5. Box fans in opened windows at night. If you know me, then you know that I have this thing about wind. If I received an offer to live in a wind tunnel, well... if I could persuade my husband then I might consider it. Our wedding was on the beach, which of course included wind. I can't sleep without a fan. I took my own fan to the hospital with me when I delivered both of my girls. Life is just better when you add a good breeze! When I was growing up, we always had box fans in opened windows on summer nights. The coolness it provided, the crisp smell of the night air, the sound of singing crickets barely audible beneath the steady hum of the fan... mmm... just the thought of it makes me want to grab an afghan and curl up on the couch.
#6. Camp. My mom would always take me shopping and let me pick out all of my own toiletries a few days before camp. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a new sponge, deodorant, shaving gel, razors, a new toothbrush, toothpaste...the works. And only the best... we're not talking about Suave here people... we're talking Pantene, maybe Herbal Essences... okay? Now, to a 12 year old girl with a hot pink and black Caboodle, let's just say it was kind of a big deal. I'd always get to pick out new socks and undies, some new knee length (FC regulation, of course) shorts, and a new white pair of canvas tennis shoes. (Not sure at what age I quit requesting those.) Anyway, camp has it's own separate file in my mind, and trust me...it's busting open with great memories. One last thought on that. I realize now what a financial sacrifice it was for my parents to send the three of us to camp each summer. (And in our latter years to two camps, Minnesota and Indiana.) I will be forever grateful for the memories that they allowed us to create by making that sacrifice.
#7. The Grahams & Kelley Veneskey. This isn't a specific memory and I'm going to have to double up because I'm running out of numbers, but I have to say something about The Grahams and Kelley. As I've been typing, I've thought of several memories that include The Grahams, or Kelley. Both were such a huge part of my life growing up in Indiana. The Grahams are my second family. I could type for hours of the memories that I have of growing up with them, and still not come close to getting them all out. Our families went to church together, went camping together, took road trips together, celebrated holidays together, got together for game nights every weekend... I could go on and on. Karen, Becky, Julie, and Terri are the closest thing that I've ever had to sisters. They are still family to me, and always will be. Kelley - to this day when someone in my family talks about Kelley... we know who they referring to, no Veneskey needed. She was my best friend during some of the most important years of my life. You know, that time in your life when you can say anything and not have to worry about sounding like an adult. That... not a girl, not yet a woman phase. She was my Kelley. She saw me through my earliest heart aches, and made me laugh harder than just about anyone ever has. We had BOXES full of inside jokes written out into notes which were then folded craftily and adorned with acronyms such as, L.Y.L.A.S and B.F.F.A.A.D, and topped off with a 4U2C-ONLY. I've only seen Kelley one time since I've been a bonified adult. I was pregnant with Morgan and she happened to be in Florida on vacation. I pulled out a box of those old notes that I was talking about and we laughed until we cried as we tried to decipher our code words and remember the details of our inside jokes. When school was out for the summer, I always had more time with The Grahams, and Kelley. Late nights, sleepovers, good times...
#8. KOOL-AID POPSICLES! Who else had them?! The little tupperware popsicle containers that you poured Kool-aid into and then stuck in the freezer. Grape was my favorite. Note to self: search ebay and find some of these. This may be a firm requirement for my girls as well.
#9. My dad and the weather. If there was a storm coming, he would always walk out on the porch and study the sky. When I was 4 or 5 and we were living in Illinois, we had a close call during a breakout of big tornadoes. My dad was out of town that night, and it brings tears to my eyes as I recall how terrified my mother was as she did everything in her power to ensure that her babies were protected. I have so many vivid memories of that night, but I won't go into all of the details because I'm on a roll with good memories and that was a very scary night for me. Basically, I grew up with a fear of tornadoes. Probably not too uncommon of a fear for a kid growing up in the Midwest. Where did I find solace? My dad. I trusted him, especially when it came to the weather. I knew that if it was going to be bad, he would make sure we got to a safe place. It's funny because Beau is very much the same way. Only, he can pull up the radar on his iphone. I never saw my dad do that.
#10. I'm officially cheating because I'm gonna double up... again. I have to say something about watermelon and Mason jars. I can't imagine a summer without watermelon, nor do I want to. I grew up on watermelon, I think that's why I'm so sweet. ;) I love, love, love me some cold, crisp watermelon. We put a little salt on ours and the summer simply can't start without it. And Mason jars... well, let's just say my mama had us drinking out of Mason jars before Pottery Barn slapped some in their magazine and called 'em chic. Mmm... a Mason jar packed to the lip with ice and beverage, the cold glass against the warmth of summer forming little beads of sweat that slowly roll down the sides pushing away the heat of the day. There's nothing like a cold drink from a Mason jar. Okay, so now I feel compelled to talk about bologna sandwiches with lettuce and Miracle Whip... because obviously that's what you eat for lunch on a summer day when you are drinking an ice cold drink from a Mason jar... BUT I'll stop here.
Oh, there are so many more memories. Stories with my beloved brothers, and corn fields, and water hoses, and cool grass under bare feet, and dirty feet on hot pavement, and sleepovers, and sprinklers, and swimming pools, and good friends, and late nights, and... maybe this post will require an encore. I'm bummed that I didn't dig out some fun pictures to accompany this post when I was at my parent's house a few weeks ago. BUT, for now, you have a sampling of my childhood memories of summa, summa, summatime!
That was fun... and refreshing. In fact, it was so good... that I think that you should do it too! I want to hear about your favorite memory from summertime as a child. Guess what?! It's time for a GIVEAWAY! (Enter brass band, balloons dropping and confetti cannons.) That's right, one commenter on this post will receive their very own $25 gift card! (Winner may have their choice of either a Walmart or Publix gift card.) Seeing as how this blog is just getting rolling, I'd say the odds will be pretty good. ;)
THE DETAILS: To participate, share your favorite SUMMERTIME memory from your childhood, in the comments portion at the bottom of this blog. Only comments left here on the blog will be entered in the drawing. After you share your memory, visit the Sit Down And Take A Brake Facebook page, and hit like! After that, you are in the running! Want to increase your chance of winning? Share the link on your Facebook page, and get an additional entry in the drawing. To make sure that your "share" gets counted, send a message to Sit Down And Take A Brake on Facebook with the word "SHARED." The winner will be selected via Random.org, and will be announced on Facebook no later than Wednesday at 9:00 PM EST. Talk about an easy $25, perfect opportunity to grab yourself a watermelon and some Mason jars! ;) Until then... share it, shout it, pass the word to all of your friends! Oh, and happy recollecting everyone!
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| Summer ain't over yet!! Drink it up!! |
Seriously, what a great idea for a post. Do you mind...if I copy? :) Not your words, but the idea. I'd like to write about summertime memories on my blog, now. I enjoyed reading yours. So vivid. Yours are similar, and different than mine. For instance, I always wanted to go to camp but that never happened. But watermelon. What *would* summer be without watermelon?!?
ReplyDeleteSo glad you started your blog :)
A few times we took family vacations to Disneyland, but the summer vacations that stick in my memory the most are the camping trips. Every summer we would head to Eagle Lake, up in the mountains, with another family. The parents stayed in campers, the kids in tents. We would bring our bikes and ride all around the campground and trails. We'd stop at the general store and buy ice cream. The lake was a beautiful swimming lake. We found a beach across the lake that, it seemed, no one else knew about because we always seemed to be the only ones there. It had a very large rock that we would climb up and jump off. I was baptized by my dad one summer at that beach. Such wonderful memories. Thank you for reminding me to stop and remember those wonderful summer days!
ReplyDeleteCatching fireflies in Mason jars at my aunt's house in South Carolina. Staying out till dark playing "baseball" with the neighborhood kids. We used a tennis racket and ball, but it was our baseball. Going camping in the big green tent. So many fun summer memories!
ReplyDeleteAs a child during the summer most of my memories revolve around my grandparent farm and lots of hardworking, but another very vivid memory is of the 4H fair. I was lucky enough to be beaded with two amazing God Parents, a god sister and 2 hod brothers. Every year during te week of the Blackford county fair I would stay with them The Emshwiller family. While there I was treated as one of their children and had a whole list of chores to complete each day. I always stayed the week of the fair, and the other three children were VERY involved. They showed dairy cows, goats, had craft projects and many others. The week of te fair in this farm town is a big deal, or was at least to us. We would wake up early to get to the fair to feed the animals, bath them on show days and just run bare footed with cut off jean shorts around the fair grounds. As a teenage my God sister and I felt like we ruled the world. The fair was where I had my first kiss, first dance, first heart break, the best lemon shale ups, elephant ears, and some amazing steak sandwiches. I worked hard, got a sweet tan, and ran around like I was a queen! The whole time probably smelling like cow poo, covered in sweat and dirt! Although this is a memory that spreads throughout my youth, and taught me lots about hard work it's something I miss dearly. I'm definitely going to work on taking my city slicker children to a fair and let them get down an dirty!! Funny how typing this I can still here the mooing of cows, smell them, and feel the dirt in my feet. Thanks Vicki for gettin me to go back in time and unlocking some awesome memories :)
ReplyDeleteAs a child, my parents would take long, lazy drives when the heat became unbearable and we needed to get out of our hot house. We discovers balm, fort lonesome,fort desktop, etc. the memory of daddy driving and just hanging out with the family going who knows where...time stood still during thos afternoons. And it was way better than taking a nap!!
ReplyDeleteOne of my precious memories was the summer that my sister and I decided we were going to become famous Hollywood screenwriters and write a sequel to The Mighty Ducks...it had just come out and were obsessed. We thought we would write a script with roles for us so we could be in it, too. And we completely thought it would happen ;)
ReplyDeleteRight outside our neighborhood was a large house in the early stages of being built. Each night we would pack snacks, candles and our journals and sneak (er, trespass...oops) up to the second floor of the cement frame. We'd spend hours writing and plotting our movie. Unfortunately, we never finished and mailed it to 'Hollywood' or I'm sure it totally would have been picked up. When The Mighty Ducks did come out with a sequeal, we thought they stole our idea.
Mine would be exploring the countryside gravel roads on my bike in North Dakota. The wind in my hair, the sound of the train coming down the tracks, and the smell of farm animals. Yes, the joys if summer as a kid!
ReplyDeleteBecky, BHSF
www.wealthinmonths.com
I have many childhood memories, but my biggest would have to be sitting outside in lawn chairs at dusk in my Nana & Pappaw's yard, trying to spit watermelon seeds farther than anyone else, trying to catch fireflies in a glass jar, and learning to ride my bike. If there was a community softball/baseball game going on at the field a block away, we would abandon our lawn chairs and walk the block to the field to watch the players, as Pappaw would say, "smack that apple and paste that pill." I miss my grandparents! :)
ReplyDeleteI have so many childhood memories that it's hard to choose from! I grew up on a military base and we had SO much freedom! I remember my best friend and I would ride our bikes all day long and pretend our bikes were horses. We would go anywhere we wanted! As I got older and we lived off a secured military base, friends were allowed to come to my house. Mom would stay up late with my friends and play card games and we would have so much fun! I also loved just sitting on my porch with my friends and talking until we were all so tired we could barely stay awake! It's funny how such simple things bring such a smile to my face!
ReplyDeleteIts so hard to choose just one favorite childhood memory. When I think back to summertime, I vividly remember what it was like to grow up on 300 acres and explore the fields and woods with my brother. We thought we were on such an adventure when we found the creek and uncovered treasures of broken bottles and an old refrigerator someone had dumped there decades prior. It was all garbage but we thought we were so special finding everything!
ReplyDeleteI have had so many "wonderful" summers that this is going to be a hard comment to write! See, when I was growing up we moved more than the average family would. I went to several different schools and by the time I began school in the third school district I figured that making friends was a waste of time. I did, however, find complete solace in one friend. That was probably the best summer break of my life! Her name was Nicole and eventhough I moved several times after that we have have still remained friends. We became aquainted during 5th grade. I was the usual "new student". She was the first person to talk to me. I can remeber several weekends that I would stay with her in a row. Then one time she came to stay with me and we camped out in the front yard. It was early summer, and that night it got so cold. We had all the major requirements of a campout. We pitched a tent, had a ton of blankets for padding for our sleeping bags, lanterns, only the newest copy of Teen magazine, and of course the house phone! Now, remember this was the time before cell phones, and cordless phones were a new item. I had the regular phone stretched outside. I lived on a farm so there was plenty of wild animals around. We stayed up all night laughing and talking! This was the first and last time she stayed with me but I LOVED it! I stayed with her a lot though.
ReplyDeleteI have lots of summertime memories and like you Vicki many of them involve a ballpark. This is also a must in our family but it has transitioned from a ballpark to a soccer field! Regardless, same sweat, dirt, and gooey Blow-Pops. :)One of my favorite summertime memories is spending time with a lot of families at an annual summer BBQ. We played "old-fashioned" games such as wheelbarrow races, potato sack races, and of course we always had a watermelon seed spitting contest. After the watermelons were good and cold, from floating in the pool of course, we would slice them open and dig in. Everyone saved their own seeds in a Solo cup and then we would line up and see who could spit them the farthest! I love that my girls enjoy playing the "old-fashioned" games at birthday parties and summer get-togethers.
ReplyDeleteI share all of those memories with you except number 9. I think I still have a faint scar on my leg from that moped- when I guess I forgot to turn and ran straight into a pole!
ReplyDelete