Summer Memories

As I was filling up my car with gas today, I saw the 12 packs of soda on sale. This immediately brought me back to my summer days as a child. I could picture myself at the grocery store with my mother picking out our favorite sodas for our summer BBQ. I could then feel my hand inside the ice cold cooler, fumbling for my Sunkist or A&W Rootbeer....those were the days!

I loved summer as a child.....80 something days to do whatever I wanted! I remember the Country Time Lemonade Commercials coming on (you know the ones with the kids swimming in the creek with their big tire floats) and that is when we knew summer was here. We had an above ground pool growing up and that was the place to cool off on a warm summers day. There were raspberries and blackberries to be picked, forts to build, bikes to ride and friends to play with.

Friends always loved to play at our house because of the well stocked pantry. My mom had Devil Dogs, Twinkies, Ring Dings, Fruit Roll Ups, Fun Fruits, cookies, chips and plenty of soda. It is quite surprising that my sisters and I did not grow up to be fat lards with all the junk we had lying around (I am allergic to chocolate and peanuts so I know this helped my situation greatly!). My friends use to walk into my house and immediately run to the pantry. Having been to their houses, I understood why our pantry was so appealing. I remember my friend J's mom always had a piece of fruit or carrot sticks and celery for our afternoon snack. She made her own hummus and I use to devour it. J would always complain about this healthy snack and talk about all of the good food that my mom had ;)

Many of my summer memories are at the lake and I can't wait to get back up there with Z in August. We will have three whole weeks to swim, play and gaze at the stars. It will be a great time to make some special summer memories.

Summer is a great time to slow down and have fun. S and I made our annual list of summer activities that we hope to accomplish. It includes trips to the beach, clam cakes and chowdah, a trip to the water park, cooking a lobster dinner, mini golf and of course trips to the local ice cream stand. Happy Summer Everyone! Remember to take some time and just enjoy the season!