Summer Is Happiness!
Summers are a time to kick back, relax and have fun! Memorable summer adventures may include family reunions, summer vacations or great summer jobs. Whether biting into a ripe, juicy peach or swimming in a clear, cool lake, summer always stirs up memories of fun and adventure.
What memories of summer fun from your childhood made the season special? Did your family take an annual summer vacation? Where did you go? What did you do? How and where did you celebrate the summer holidays — with family and friends, and lots of good food, at home, the lake, a neighbor’s place? Maybe you got a summer job? What was the job?
Did you meet new friends or possibly a love interest? Did you spend your days with friends, siblings and/or cousins splashing in the swimming hole or pond, or fishing in the creek? Maybe you found other fun activities to keep you entertained?
A New Family Tradition
After I got married and started a family, we began attending my husband’s family reunions. He had three brothers and two sisters. We met the second Saturday of each June.
We would all gather for a big picnic with lots of food. And it was strawberry season, so we always had plenty of berries, as well as a lot of other homemade sweet treats!
We played games in the afternoon, which was a lot of fun. Later, we had an ice cream social to catch up on the past year.
Great Childhood Memories Of Summer Fun
When I was growing up, life was pretty simple. Playtime was wherever our imaginations took us, and I have summer memories of playing outside for hours with my sisters and brothers, and all of our neighborhood friends!
A few blankets attached to the clothesline made a fort with rooms for us and our friends. We had many sheds and a big barn to explore, which also made great places for hide-and-go-seek games.
We rode our bikes, and played marbles in the dirt. Most of the summer we went barefoot and never thought about shoes until Sunday mornings or when the time came to go back to school.
One Sunday night a month, our parents and neighbors would get together to play cards. It was pretty much the same at each house: kids outside, parents inside.
At our house, Mom would set up card tables and have little dishes for snacks at each table. We were strictly warned not to bother the grown-ups or their snacks. However, there was always a big bowl of the same snacks for the kids, but it never lasted very long. Those Sunday night card parties were enjoyed by us kids just as much as by the adults.
Several times during the summer, the neighbor kids would meet down by the creek, where we all enjoyed a good swim and skipped rocks!
If I were to ask you to name three of your favorite summertime childhood memories, what comes to mind?