Ahhhh, summer time brings a sense of newness and fun for me. It's never long enough (although I will admit I look forward to the cold mainly because it means the holidays are coming, but once they're gone I'm ready for the summer). Many people think I'm crazy for liking summer time since I live in Tucson, but I think it was all the memories I had of summer growing up that makes it something I look forward to. The smell of our swamp cooler running for the first time that year, countless days of swimming, and the freedom to lounge around at home.
The middle of May brought the end of the school year and yet another year of freedom in the outdoors. There were always lake trips with friends and family. Sometimes the kids would sleep outside next to the water on our inflatable island. First thing in the morning we'd shove down a few powdered doughnuts and a Capri Sun and head off to do some knee boarding before the water got too choppy (that means rough for anyone who didn't know). We'd then come back to camp chow down on our second round of breakfast and then head back out for more water play. By the afternoons the water had been stirred up by boats, skiers and the wind that we would take a break under the shade or play king of the island on our giant inflatable island. We'd come back sun burnt and with chapped skin from being in our bathing suits 24/7, grinning from ear to ear. Other summer vacation destinations would include camping in the White Mountains.
Lazy days at home were great for reading, watching movies, playing inside or heading out to swim at a friends house or at the city pool. In the afternoon, usually right before dinner, I'd hear the familiar song of the ice cream truck off in the distance. This was the time of day where the concrete and asphalt had had just enough time to reach scorching temperatures. I'd immediately stop what I was doing, scrounge up $0.75 and run barefooted, down the street after the truck. I'd stand, or hop rather, on the hot asphalt to order a sno-cone, and it usually came with a piece of bubble-gum at the bottom. Only the gum would last like 3 chews and then it would disintegrate. The afternoons were also good for naps. The quiet hum of the swamp cooler always sang me to sleep.
There were those days of course, that my mom took advantage of us being home. She'd tell us the night before that we'd be waking up bright and early to help pull weeds. Although once we were finished we'd hook up our slip 'n slide and cool off. There was also one summer our TV had broken. We didn't have the money to buy a new one right away so my mom went out and bought us notebooks to journal in, activity books to work on and a few new games to play. While my brother and I were greatly disgruntled over the matter we quickly adjusted and still had a great summer.
Sleepovers, riding our bicycles to Dairy Queen, and playing in our sandbox are just a few other summer activities. So many memories of the hot Tucson summers, I only hope there are more to come!
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