Another hot July day today, topping out at 94. As a child,I adored the coming of summer evenings. The fireflies were out in full force and we were bent on catching them and putting them in jars. The summer evenings were never long enough for all the games we wanted to play in the yard after supper. We weren't terribly plagued by mosquitos and such. I remember June bugs, buzzing around the porch lights and under the street lamps. It was a summer sound.
My cousin Elton, about 5 years my senior, was fond of catching them and putting them in my long blond hair. I hated them.....and him too. I didn't have brothers, but got my share of grief from that cousin. His younger sister was born the same year as I was, and we were close friends. That put me in "Elton" country, frequently, and he always had a prank ready for us.
Hot July days meant swimming at the Mill Pond, which was across town, and someone must drive, our Mom. It was great fun for us, but maybe not so much for her, sitting and waiting while we swam. She was a pretty good sport about it. My mother's mother lived with us for as far back as I can remember, and she came along to keep Mom company. And maybe to get out of the house. No central AC in those days. Just a porch swing and if you were lucky, a fan. I think we had one fan to serve all our needs.
The days were hot and slow and easy...watermelon, sparklers, picnics in the park or at the lake. Nothing seemed to move as fast as it does now. There were nickles for Popcicles, and the smell of popcorn in the air from the movie theaters as you walked by.
One of the best parts of summer was the Arts and Crafts summer programs they held at the elementary school across the street from our house. The fees were low..maybe a nickle to get the vinyl coated thread to weave a bracelet, or a dime to make a plaster of Paris molded figure that you could later paint. There were snacks , and friends, and lots of helping hands. But it only lasted a few weeks, and then it was done til next year.
Summer seems endless when you are a child, but then so does childhood. Like it will never end, nor change. But it does. Before you know it, it's past and you are in whatever comes next.
It's funny how long it takes to figuring that out. As if what ever part of life you are in was going to stay that way. Sometimes the change come so rapidly, as with 9/11, that it takes your breath away. And you can't believe how all that could happen in just a moment, but it does.
Thank goodness for those endless days of summer as a kid, and the memories of things that seemed to never change.
My cousin Elton, about 5 years my senior, was fond of catching them and putting them in my long blond hair. I hated them.....and him too. I didn't have brothers, but got my share of grief from that cousin. His younger sister was born the same year as I was, and we were close friends. That put me in "Elton" country, frequently, and he always had a prank ready for us.
Hot July days meant swimming at the Mill Pond, which was across town, and someone must drive, our Mom. It was great fun for us, but maybe not so much for her, sitting and waiting while we swam. She was a pretty good sport about it. My mother's mother lived with us for as far back as I can remember, and she came along to keep Mom company. And maybe to get out of the house. No central AC in those days. Just a porch swing and if you were lucky, a fan. I think we had one fan to serve all our needs.
The days were hot and slow and easy...watermelon, sparklers, picnics in the park or at the lake. Nothing seemed to move as fast as it does now. There were nickles for Popcicles, and the smell of popcorn in the air from the movie theaters as you walked by.
One of the best parts of summer was the Arts and Crafts summer programs they held at the elementary school across the street from our house. The fees were low..maybe a nickle to get the vinyl coated thread to weave a bracelet, or a dime to make a plaster of Paris molded figure that you could later paint. There were snacks , and friends, and lots of helping hands. But it only lasted a few weeks, and then it was done til next year.
Summer seems endless when you are a child, but then so does childhood. Like it will never end, nor change. But it does. Before you know it, it's past and you are in whatever comes next.
It's funny how long it takes to figuring that out. As if what ever part of life you are in was going to stay that way. Sometimes the change come so rapidly, as with 9/11, that it takes your breath away. And you can't believe how all that could happen in just a moment, but it does.
Thank goodness for those endless days of summer as a kid, and the memories of things that seemed to never change.
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