About a month ago, we started having these 2-3 days stints where the weather was absolutely beautiful.
Okay, “absolutely beautiful” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was warm enough that I didn’t have to contend with trying to wrangle my 2-year-old into her thick coat, hat, mitts, and boots, so it was absolutely beautiful to me.
Of course, every time the temperature crept above the 50-degree mark, I convinced myself summer had arrived (funny how much warmer 50 degrees feels in the Spring versus the Fall), and immediately started packing away my frumpy turtle neck sweaters and those god-awful riding boots I thought looked so cute on me back in November.
But then Winter would rear its ugly head again, and everyone within a 50-mile radius could hear me swearing as I lugged all of that Winter crap back up from our storage locker.
And then it happened.
We had 5 straight days of sunny, gorgeous weather.
So I sat down and starting writing a list of all the things I loved about summer when I was a kid, in excited anticipation of re-experiencing them with my own child, and I came to realize something: I’ll never grow too old to love any of this stuff.
Ever.
Except maybe the swings. I need a Dramamine to get on one of those these days.
Here are the top 50 things I loved about summer as a kid…
1. Barbecues
2. Those cheesy, dangerous fairs they had in the parking lot of our local mall
3. Trips to the park
4. Popsicles
5. Finally kicking my winter cough
6. The smell of freshly cut grass
7. Gin and tonics on the deck <<– They put my mother in a better mood
8. Summer vacation
9. Fireworks
10. The feeling of warm sand on my bare feet
11. Building sand castles
12. Butterscotch ripple ice cream cones at my Grandma’s house
13. Running through the sprinkler
14. Afternoons at the pool
15. Roasting marshmallows
16. Coke flavored slurpees from 7-Eleven <<– Do they still sell these?
17. Drive-in movies
18. Weekends at the beach
19. The smell of clothes after they’ve been hung out to dry in the afternoon sun
20. Skipping rope <<– I was awesome at double dutch
21. Trips to the zoo
22. Fresh strawberries with sugar sprinkled on top
23. Bike rides with my Dad
24. Driving in my Mom’s Firebird with the t roof off
25. Lemonade stands at the end of our driveway
26. Hopscotch
27. Water balloon fights
28. Pool parties
29. Camping trips <<– KIDDING!
30. Drawing all over the driveway with chalk
31. Ice cream trucks
32. Catching bugs and putting them in old jam jars
33. Dandelion bouquets
34. The sound and feel of oscillating fans at the foot of my bed <<– Thank god for air conditioning
35. Water parks
36. Searching for sea shells at the beach
37. Roasting marshmallows
38. Corn on the cob
39. Jelly shoes <<– If they made them in my size, I’d still wear them
40. Bubbles
41. The shock of cold when my mother put aloe vera on my back after a day in the sun
42. Bon fires
43. July 4th
44. Water fights while washing the car
45. The smell (and look) of calamine lotion on my too-burnt nose
46. Merry-go-rounds
47. Feeding the ducks at the park
48. Candy apples
49. Long weekends
50. Longer days (and later bedtimes)
