This is the last full day of spring. Summer is upon us.
This might mean different things to each of us. For over forty-five years summer meant for me that school was out. No more teachers...no more books... (well, not so much for the books.) We never went on vacations because my dad was a farmer and we were poor. But some days we would go for drives, have picnics and go fishing.
I loved going to the library and getting stacks of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. We had no air conditioning in our house or car, but I loved sitting under big shade trees or on hay stacks and reading the day away.
We had no pool either and would swim in the irrigation ditches and even the canals. That's probably not advisable today but no one worried about us then. We left home early and spent the whole day wandering the countryside on bikes, horses, or on foot. No one feared or even imagined that we would be kidnapped or harmed. (And my mother was a worrier...)
Here in Arizona, summer means temperatures over 110 degrees for days on end, scorching winds, and dust storms. But it also means swimming in a tepid pool and mornings and evenings that never require jackets. Oh, and I still love reading good books, but now it's inside with th air conditioner humming blessedly in the background.
What's on your agenda this summer?
13 comments:
Trixie Belden! I LOVED those books! I read the whole series as a kid but have never met anyone else who read them. :)
What's on my agenda? You mean summer's not over????!!! I don't know how much more i can take, the older I get the less tolerant I am of the heat.
There are some nice luxuries we have now days, but I feel so sorry for kids these days. They don't know the life we grew up with and truthfully I don't know the one you grew up with, but I still was outdoors way more than what my step-daughter is. I won't let her tell me when it's 80 degrees out that it's really hot outside. I tell her to suck it up because summer isn't even here yet.
I wasn't tolerant of this $%!!! heat when I was young and cute - imagine now. Your summers remind me of my Idaho summers. I wish the parents would have stayed there. I was too young when I had to leave that lifestyle.
I have good memories of summers in Vermont when I was young. We, too, roamed about and no one had to worry about us. We swam all day in the river (guess that wouldn't be allowed now) and I read loads of books and still do. We spent most of our time outside and that's something we don't generally do in AZ in the summer. If I'm outside (unless out of necessity) I want to be in or near the water!
Growing up I spent a lot of time on a ranch in a small town. Being a city girl I loved it, wide open spaces!
I also loved to read during the heat of summer, no a.c., just a tree.
I just finished To Kill A Mockingbird, my first time reading this one. Reminds me of the simplicity of youth :)
Do you remember the bookmobile?
Your summers sounded like heaven. When I was little we would go to my grandmas in Mackay. I guess as I look back at it they were poor and worked from sun to sun, but it was heaven to me.
Your summers now...... Can't imagine the heat. We are about 61* right now and my furnace just kicked on.
Enjoy!
I read everything when I was a kid - Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and everything else I could find. We used to walk a couple of miles to swim in the river, visited grandparents in Nova Scotia, and spent our entire time outdoors. We loved playing kick the can as it was getting dark. Fun times. This year we're foolish enough to drive to AZ for a couple weeks in July...we never learn!
Reading was my great escape as a child. Nothing could transport you to a different time and place, like a good book. You are so right about being carefree while we played. Today's kids do not have that luxury. Enjoy summer.
Our vacations were mostly camping and my summer was very like yours- leisurely play when chores were done
I loved visiting the library during the summer.
This summer we are camping, fishing, and just going with the flow.
I want to read outside as much as possible, enjoy my yard and work on some projects in the house! I grew up in So. Cal and while we didnt have a pool all of my friends did so there was a lot of swimmin' and I think we bbq-d every night!
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