Summer as a Kid
According to meteorologists, summer will begin on June 21. In my heart, though, it has already begun.
I’m so excited. Honestly, I’ve been excited for a few weeks now. As soon as temperatures hit 90 degrees in St. Louis I was ready.
This is unusual for me. I’m not typically someone who gets super pumped about summer. It’s not my favorite season (give me fall all day). I’m neither a beach babe, nor a sun goddess. More of an indoor cat who burns easily than anything. As this summer approaches, though, I’m experiencing a change of heart. I want to do all sorts of things I haven’t done in years.
For example, I’ve been feeling the urge to spend a night at a baseball game. Not a major league game, but something much less glamorous, like a group of 3rd graders playing in the dirt. As a kid I spent years at our local sports complex as a player, scorekeeper, and concession stand staffer. I ate all the free hot dogs and popcorn, and drank all the free All Sports (please, tell me I wasn’t the only one drinking budget Gatorade) and Mountain Dew Livewires my heart desired.
Or, here’s another one. The other night I mentioned to Ben over dinner that Dairy Queen had released their summer blizzard menu. I have a long and storied history with Dairy Queen. It was one of a small number of fast food restaurants in my hometown. The blizzard that caught my attention this year was the Oreo Dirt Pie Blizzard, AKA dirt ‘n worms. We couldn’t resist, so shortly after dinner we hopped in the car to fetch our treats. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had the classic pairing of Oreos and gummy worms, but it did not disappoint.
I’ve also found myself doing extensive research into pools and waterparks in my area. Every year the majority of the summer in St. Louis is hot, muggy, and gross. I, unfortunately, do not find myself blessed with the gift of a relative or close family friend who gives me unlimited access to their pool. In summer’s past I resigned myself to sitting inside and dreaming about going for a dip in the cool water, not wanting to spend the time, energy, and money it would take to go to an actual pool. Heading into this summer I am prepared with prices for memberships and day passes. I’ve read all about the facilities closest to our house and I have several new swimsuits sitting in online shopping carts waiting for me to ‘proceed to check out.’
The thing is, because I don’t live my life on an academic schedule with an extended summer break, I’ve let a lot of the best parts of summer pass me by. I’ve done some fun things over the last few years, but I was mostly too concerned with looking cool and not sweating too much. My body changing from that of a size two teenager to an adult one I sometimes didn’t recognize made me hesitant about things like shorts, tank tops, and swimsuits. My livable, but far from extravagant income led me to believe I couldn’t afford fun summer vacations. My desire to be seen as an adult kept me from simple joys like playing in the sprinkler, eating popsicles, and spending every possible moment outside.
What’s changed this year? Having an almost 2 year old probably has something to do with it. This is Riley’s first summer where she is actually walking. The child absolutely loves being outside. Every night after dinner we decide between loading up and heading to a park, lugging the wagon around the crappy city sidewalks in our neighborhood, or simply playing in the front yard with our watering can and hose. She gets sweaty and dirty and red cheeked, and she does not care one bit (I’m still working on getting more comfortable with all of the inevitable stains on her cute new clothes).
She is absolutely changing the way I look at summertime.
The sights, sounds, and smells of summer have the ability to take me back to my own childhood like nothing else. We all know the joy of school being out for summer. The days felt like they went on forever. I remember the point in each summer when I would start to feel a little bit bored, but would never dare to admit it because I knew I was in the middle of a good thing that I didn’t want to wish away. Hot dogs on the grill, sidewalk chalk masterpieces, lawnmowers roaring to life. It’s all connected to a sense of freedom and possibility that is hard to capture the rest of the year.
Riley hasn’t reached school age yet, and still, I want to give her those same magical moments. I wouldn’t have so many great summer memories without adults who supplied me with a bike to tear through town on, ice cream money, and the chance to play tee ball and take swimming lessons. As much as parenthood comes with loads of responsibilities and exhaustion, it also unlocks the connection to the child I once was. Getting hot, sweaty, dirty, and sticky are no match for the joy of soaking up summer. When your on summer break there’s no room for excessive seriousness. Other people’s opinions on how you look or what you’re doing just don’t matter.
This year, summertime feels like freedom, and I have a two year old to thank for that. Summer as a kid was the best. Summer with a kid is looking pretty great too.
A sampling of Bowers family summer plans:
Eat all of the cold things. Popsicles on the front step, snow cones with friends, more dirt ‘n worms blizzards, ice cream treats from the grocery store. If you offer me any sort of cold treat this summer I am obligated to accept.
Go to a baseball game. This will probably end up being at least one Major League game. We love to go see the Dodgers when they are in town. The great thing about living in St. Louis is that baseball tickets are easy to come by and last minute ball games are not at all out of the ordinary. We probably won’t go to any little kid games, because we don’t have a kid playing baseball yet, and that would be weird.
Wagon rides and bike rides. We invested in a fancy bike trailer to pull Riley around in. It is top of the line, and she is a big fan. Week nights don’t typically leave enough time to get us all on bikes, so we pull the wagon around instead. Especially cute trips involve a passenger eating all of the snacks.
Pool days. I will go to the pool this year, more than I have in the past. Don’t worry, the bar for this is very low. One of the few pool days we got last summer involved Ben and I whipping splash bombs at each other like we were in middle school. So, we have that to look forward to.
Movies. We already kicked off summer by seeing Top Gun in the theater during Memorial Day weekend. Ben and I both have some new releases we’re looking forward to. ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ for me, the new Jordan Peele movie ‘Nope’ for Ben, and the Elvis movie for both of us. I also wouldn’t surprised if Riley gets to experience her first outdoor movie (or at least part of a movie).
