Hi friends,
I pray you are healthy and enjoying the warmer weather. I’m a beach girl at heart and a summer girl through and through. In fact I’ve made an ‘office’ for myself out on the back deck where I spend the day (and evenings as deadline approaches) writing.
Besides the warmth and sunny days, there’s just something special about summer. Maybe it comes from being a kid. Having the summer off from school. We always went Labor Day to Memorial Day. And I remember how antsy we got the last few days. But once summer began, we were free.
I’m aging myself here, but when we were kids—way back in the day—life was different. The neighborhood I grew up in only had one entrance and exit. Everyone knew everyone, and we (all the elementary kids) played together. We would eat breakfast, head outside, and not be seen until someone’s mom called us all over for lunch, then we were back at it until dinner time. Often, we headed back out after dinner to play flashlight tag in the woods.
Every day we rode bikes, played on the basketball and tennis courts, went for long walks in the woods surrounding our neighborhood. We walked to the National Geographic society which sat on one edge of our neighborhood. We thought it was so cool to bring change and to get something out of the vending machine in the cafeteria.
Or we’d head the other way to the theatre our neighborhood, Wolf Trap Woods, was named after. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. We’d climb up on the stage of the open-air theatre and put on plays of our own. On the trek back to the heart of the neighborhood, we’d skip through the winding creek leading us home.
Such special memories. When we grew up, we got to experience summer fun with our kids and now with our grandkids. We still take walks at night and as my youngest grandson said as he stared up at the sky. “God made everything so beautiful.”
Each season has its own beauty, but to me, nothing compares to summer.
Reader Question: What’s your favorite part of summer?
Blessings,
Dani
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Love this. I think we both grew up in a much simpler time. I remember lightning bugs, watermelon on the front porch, cranking the ice cream maker, telling my granny that it just HAD to be ready. I remember going to my grandparents and laying in my granny’s bed and the cream of the front porch swing as my papa listened to the baseball game on his transistor radio. Memories. ❤️
Those are such wonderful memories! I LOVED lighting bugs and listening to music on the deck. You’re right. Definitely a simpler time. Thanks so much for stopping by.
I loved reading this, Dani, and you ALMOST won me over, but I have to say, in answer to “what is your favorite part of summer?” THE END OF IT! Summer has always been my LEAST favorite season. I do have similar happy childhood memories, but I LOVED school and was always a little sad for it to end and THRILLED when it started back in the fall. I just wilt in the heat, and feel energized when it’s cold. Every day I thank the Lord for AC (while I make up excuses to stay indoors! :))
LOL! You’re definitely a cool weather lady. Isn’t it interesting how God makes us so different even when it comes to our favorite season. So you were the studious student. I was the daydreamer who loved to escape to other worlds in my mind while the teacher spoke. Didn’t always end up in my favor. LOL. Thanks for taking time to stop by, Deb. I really appreciate it! Hope you have a wonderful day.
I’m with you, Deborah! My first thought for my favorite
part of summer was ‘the end of it’. One thing I do like about summer, though, is the long days. I like light!
Yes, I do love the long days! Thanks for helping me find something positive about summer. 🙂
I love summer, too, Dani. I especially love that everything is so GREEN, my favorite color.
That’s great. My favorite color is blue so the blue sky and the ocean always make me happy. Thanks so much for dropping by, Lynn. Appreciate you. Can’t wait to read your latest release. Sounds wonderful!
My favorite part is the less busy schedule, more time to just hang out, no homework to supervise, more time to just “be.”
So true. It’s such a fun time to enjoy, whether they are active play days (my girls lived outside) or lazy ones playing games or watching the stars at night.
I enjoyed your post and memories, Dani. You jogged some of my sweet childhood memories, too – – life was indeed different then!
Since I grew up across the street from the Atlanta airport, one memory that stands out for me is riding my bike to a nearby fence to watch the airplanes taxi down the runway. It was extra-special when the pilots waved to us. 🙂 Wow, things have definitely changed. Now our airport is HUGE, and people would never be able to have only a fence separating them from a runway. 🙁
Thanks for this post, and now I’ll go and turn down my AC as I patiently wait for Autumn (my very favorite season), LOL! 😉
Oh wow. That’s such a cool memory! That had to be so exciting.
It’s so hot in Houston that icy summer treats are my favorite thing about summer. Since I’m diabetic and somewhat lactose intolerant, I have to watch my intake closely and can’t indulge in regular ice cream, sherbet, or even the ice creams made with sugar alcohols. So, I’ve found a recipe for Strawberry Nice Cream, which is made with frozen strawberries, coconut milk (I use lite.), almond milk, basil, a pinch of salt, a little lemon juice, and as little honey as I can to slightly sweeten the mixture. I blend all these together, pour these into individual serving containers with lids, and freeze them. They freeze so solid that I have to microwave them briefly to loosen them up a bit, and then I enjoy them after being outside in the heat.
Wow. That sounds delicious. Strawberries and basil are such a great combination. I make infused water with those sometimes.
Being able to swim outside; playing w/ the grand kids outside; having the windows open and not needing air conditioning OR heat! Campfires! Church Camp!