I Remember Summertime

I remember

Day trips to the North shore of Long Island,

Cedar Beach, strewn with gray stones that bruised the bottoms of our feet,

Gently lapping mini-waves that moved in ripples across the rocks,

Threatening to inundate our blanket,

When we weren't looking.

I remember

children's laughter, mellowed by the sound of gulls and splashing water

Encompassing our world as we ran, and played and laughed all the day long,

Chasing gulls, and collecting mussels that strove valiantly to stay alive in strands of drying seaweed.

A place outside of time, outside of this, the "real" world,

A place stored in my memory.

I remember

Exploring fields and woods and gardens,

And picking fruit as we climbed about in verdent, shady trees;

At the Summer home of my grandparents, my Nana and Pop-pop,

Who beamed with pride at the regular invasion of their little tribe,

Gathered together in that rural summer place of calm.

I remember

A place with no TV, no indoor plumbing, none of the usual amenities.

Sleeping on cots, using the outhouse, washing in a metal tub filled with ice cold water from an outdoor pump.

A humble house that seemed like paradise, a place of never-ending adventure

To children who had no concept of, no time for boredom

No occasion to sing that sad summer song.

I remember

Sitting beneath a shady tree

Outdoors on the lawn in our front yard,

Enjoying the gentle breezes that blew down from the leafy canopy to dry our sweat-streaked faces,

Not sequestered inside, cooling off in air conditioned isolation;

But outside where the sunshine bronzed our skin.

I remember

All our toys, strewn about on a old, well washed blanket,

There was no sunscreen for Mom to rub into sun browned skin,

But frosty cold glasses of lemonade appeared unbidden throughout the afternoon,

As we played and imagined, caught up in our fantasies,

protected from the heat of the day.

I remember

Picnics lunches eaten outside,

offered just when our bellies began to murmur.

Banquets of grapes, lemonade or iced tea , and sandwiches of peanut butter and jelly,

A welcome diversion from the intense responsibility of playing house-

Who would be Mommy? Who would be Daddy? Who would be the baby?

I remember

Competitive games of marbles,

or races run with multi-colored matchbox cars,

Or dressing Barbie dolls to go on romantic excursions-

Where would they go? Who would they date? How should they behave?

So many serious decisions.

I remember

Never feeling without entertainment

Though deprived of the modern innovations of this new generation-

Texting, Ipods, video games, computer friendships and DVDs-

We had to improvise with our imaginations.

We were so inventive.

I remember

Learn more about this author, Janet Huderski.
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