Summer is here!
Today's Summer Solstice marking the first official day of summer (and 108 degrees in Tucson) has me thinking about my childhood summers in a suburb of Pittsburgh. I don't have a lot of photos from back then, but here are a few.
With my brother in a pool we've obviously outgrown.
A picture I took of my younger brother and sisters cooling off with the hose. They're not smiling, so I think Kevin just got yelled at for blasting Terry.
Elementary school summers: free swimming lessons at the county pool, riding bikes, roller skating on our steep streets, exploring the woods and climbing trees, chasing fireflies, toasting marshmallows over our grill, playing tag and hide and seek after dark, running through yard sprinklers, no AC.
My great aunt and uncle's cottage on their childhood farm, which we visited for a week or so each summer. They were brother and sister, neither one married, and lived in their family house in town but visited the farm in the summer. There was no running water, so we used an outhouse and hauled water from a cold spring. We helped my uncle pick fresh corn and beans, swung in the hammock, fished in the creek. I loved it! I was about 11 when I took this photo.
Junior high summers: walking through the huge county park (South Park) near my house with friends and waving to drivers to see how many would wave back, spending all day at the county pool and coming home with red eyes from the chlorine, playing board and card games on Patty's screened in porch, checking out summer reads at our tiny township library, baby sitting for a little cash.
Me at a yearbook editors conference, summer of '72.
High school summers: working at Murphymart for more serious cash, yearbook meetings (I was the editor my senior year), drill team practice, dating, squeezing in time at the pool between working and school activities.
Sounds and scents: the sounds of water splashing, yard sprinklers, songs on transistor radios, crickets chirping, the scent of Coppertone suntan lotion, chlorine and freshly mowed grass.
What are some of your favorite memories? I'd love to see them in the comments!
How my Wisconsin grand dogs spend their summers:
Have a colorful day
1 comment:
This was so interesting and fun to read. And it did get me thinking about my own summer memories. I usually drill down on all the reading I did while lying in the sun on the bit of lawn I helped to keep mowed. Getting a tan back in junior and senior high was such a priority and reading helped pass the time until I could duck into the shade. I even remember one book in particular that made such an impression - The portrait of Dorian Gray. Had me going right to the end! And in grade school forward, I practically lived at the swimming pool.
Oddly enough, I don't have many memories of summer prior to that. Vague memories of camping and fishing trips. Hikes in the woods surrounding our house. Trips to the pool with my brothers whose teasing by dunking me scared me. By the time I got to junior high they had all left home so maybe that's why my memories are what they are. I think I spent more time in the woods after they were gone. And I had a bicycle with those high rider handlebars and banana seat that I rode around the adjacent neighborhood. I loved the freedom of that.
College years my parents expected me to come home each summer. Most weekends we headed over to Montana with the camper to explore and fish the various creeks and rivers, staying in forest service camps. I have fond memories of my mom pointing out wildflowers as we walked through the woods, she knew the name of every one. And when not dropping a line in the water, I really enjoyed just sitting by the streams, stretching out on big rocks, letting the sound of the rushing water block everything out, dreaming. I still do . . .
Then married years and all those motorcycle rides and trips once the weather warmed. My stabs at gardening which never went as well as I would have liked. Except for the vegetable garden in Tacoma. The husband barbecuing, his occasional trips to the fresh seafood stands to come away with a variety of fish to barbecue.
Now I still slip into that summer vacation time vibe although the rhythms of school and work are no long a part of my life, plant my little container garden of flowers to enjoy while sitting on the back deck reading or doing handwork.
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