This week's topic is Summer Memories, so let’s see…
First off, I should say that I’m not really a summer kinda
girl. I’m all about spring and autumn. Mostly, I just hate hot, humid weather,
and here, in Michigan, that happens pretty regularly. However, I’ve always
loved when my kids were home on summer break or when I was on summer break.
When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time outside – true, some
of it was spent reading outside, but I was still out there. I read the Witch of
Blackbird Pond repeatedly – and then, I’d pretend to be Kit Tyler while playing
by the pond at my Grandma’s house. Of course, I also had to help haul hay, work
in the garden and shovel shit out of the gutters in the barn. I was so excited
when they got the automated gutter cleaner. I also had to wash cow tails and
comb the shit out of them. Cows are incredibly sweet animals, but damn messy.
(This picture is in no way cow related, but I thought it was cute. And summery.)
I spent time with my other Grandma and Grandpa, too. Much of
that was spent picking strawberries. And rhubarb. And sometimes blackberries.
But there was also an old plum tree that I liked to climb. Sometimes, I’d hang
out there and read. And when I’d spend
the night, I’d fall asleep to the sound of my Grandma knitting. That’s still
the most soothing sound in the world to me.
One of my favorite things was when my mom would take us to
swim in this pond. I can’t remember the name of it, but the bottom was all
clay, and I’d dig in the clay and make bowls and little sculptures and pretend
that I was a Native American princess. Of course, this being the 70s, that term
wasn’t really in use much. But I sometimes wonder if that’s where my love of
pottery comes from. I’m always so happy to be wrist-deep in clay and sculpting.
When my brother and I weren’t fighting, we’d often drag the
blankets outside and make a fort – or just as often a ship or a spaceship under
the picnic table. But…we’d usually end up fighting and there would be tears and
recriminations.
And lastly, I remember going up to Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula for a week every year with my Dad and Grandma. The trips started
after my parents got divorced and continued through my teen years. It was
mostly fishing and walks in the woods with an occasional trip to Lake Superior,
but that’s when I fell in love with the U.P. (Please note, in this photo I was holding a pencil...not a fishing pole. I used to sit in the boat and draw or write. Okay, sometimes, I'd fish. But mostly, I'd just draw and write.)
These are some of my favorite memories—what are yours? Be
sure to click the names to see the summer memories of the rest of the Random
Wednesday bloggers!
