Longing for an old-fashioned summer
Posted on June 7, 2011 by FoBaM-Jamie
Last week, someone sent me a 100-part Facebook question about the summer activities of my childhood. It’s not like I have time to answer 100 questions about Kool-aid, red rover, and climbing trees, but it was a walk down memory lane that I couldn’t resist. I found myself smiling as the questions triggered recollections about the homemade Chinese Jacks set I designed one summer, the hours I spent in the woods with my dog, and playing my treasured 45s on the turntable in my bedroom (yes, I’m that old). Even things my daughter would consider inhumane now glow with the warm patina of nostalgia: life with only half a dozen television channels (and no remote!), chores done for free, grocery bag book covers.
The made it all too easy to see the differences between my childhood summers and my daughter’s. As they say, “times have changed.” I was fortunate a fortunate child. Summertime stretched out before me the way that languorous season should. The days were unscheduled and lazy. We weren’t allowed to watch more than a half hour of television (my sister and I chose “I Love Lucy”), so the rest of each long day was wide open for us to fill with our imaginations and ingenuity.
I spent most of my time either outdoors or with my nose in a book. I also did a fair amount of drawing and journaling. There were many trips to the local library where we’d sit on battered beanbag chairs and roam up and down the shelves, trying to find the perfect adventure story to haul up into our tree house. The swing my dad built kept us occupied for hours, as did the old deck of Bicycle brand cards (after my mom taught us to play solitaire).
My summers were wonderful. They were an actual respite from the school year – giving me the gift of unstructured time. I was able to unwind, explore the world, and spend time with myself. My daughter’s summers are also wonderful, but in a different way. She will attend at least two different, full-day camps. She’ll have a couple weeks off with her dad, and I’ll take some time off as well. Even so, her summer itinerary is nearly as busy as her school year one. Throw in some play dates, errands, and our usual outings and it quickly goes from dog days to crazy days.
When I was my daughter’s age, summer seemed like it might go on forever. Maybe it’s just the perspective of my age, but I feel like it goes by in the blink of an eye now. It’s a few measly weeks sandwiched between the end of one school year and the start of the next.
I want to take summer back this year. I want my daughter to experience some of the freedom and downtime that I had as a kid. I want to give her days of doing nothing and see what she does with them. I want to leave her to her own devices so she can hear her own voice in her head. I want to help her step off the rollercoaster of life for a minute, let her catch her breath, help her enjoy the stillness.
It won’t be easy. As a self-employed single mom, I’ve got a lot of responsibility to uphold, but I’m determined to give my little girl a taste of my old-fashioned summers. Maybe I’ll teach her to play Chinese Jacks.
Image Credit: Aitor Escuariaza
Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime!
Posted on June 23, 2010 by FoBaM-Jamie
Summertime means different things to different families. Some look forward to it as a time of rest and family travel, others dread the extra juggling required to adjust to a school-free existence.
Personally, I’ve often wondered why they are called the “lazy, hazy days of summer.” My summer days are typically jam-packed from dawn to dusk and beyond. All this “down time” tends to leave me in need of a vacation from my daughter’s vacation. With school out, my usual routine gets turned on its head as I try to figure out how to get my work done while keeping her entertained. At our house, summer day camp is the answer, but even that requires a healthy amount of on-going coordination and chauffeuring. (Boy, do I miss the school bus!)
When I was a kid, both my parents worked from home and my sister and I were left to our own devices for big chunks of the day. She and I spent hours playing together (mostly outdoors – those were the days of heading out to play after breakfast and coming in at dinner time) – adventure games, baby dolls, “school,” and “spies.” For the rest of the time, we did stuff with my mom – gardening, marketing, and sometimes craft or cooking projects. We went to the library … a lot. There were play dates and outings – sometimes with my dad, too. My memories are of long days that provided ample opportunity for doing nothing.
I wish I could give my daughter that same summer, but my circumstances are different. I’m a single mom who has to work full-time, so she’s a little girl who has to attend camp full-time. It’s not her favorite thing, but I’ve gone to great lengths to change things up this year – enrolling her in three different camps. So far, my efforts have paid off – she’s really enjoying the new experiences and making new friends, too. It’s been a salve to my mother’s guilt to see her having a good time.
I may not be able stay at home with my daughter full-time, but that will only make the “hooky” days that much better. I can’t wait to surprise her by keeping her out of camp so she and I can enjoy an afternoon at the beach or a special daytrip. She’s going to love that.
So, what’s your summer look like? Do you spend long days with your kids, or hustle back and forth to camp? What’s your favorite part of the summer? How do you make summer memories special?
Scroll below to take our Grapevine “summer sentiment” poll. Let us know how you feel about the season.
Picture Credit: Me. My daughter combining two of her favorite things – dance and the beach. Happy girl.
