Memory Lane

Thought I'd join Blessed Beyond on a trip down memory lane. Summer, the word crackled with excitement and endless possibilities. Summer started on Memorial Day weekend...or at least according to us it did, because that was when school closed and the neighborhood pool opened. Most days were spent at Mountain Shadows, a huge round pool with a diving island in the middle. It was the place to be! We would hop on our Sting-rays (my hand-me-down was purple with a silver sparkle-y banana seat) and fly down the road to the pool. At lunch, we would climb the overpass. At the top, walking over Interstate 70, we would encourage truckers to blow their horns. The sound was deafening, only our squeals could be heard over the roar. We'd run into the only place to eat around (I can see it but can't remember the name of it!); they had the best frozen lemon yogurt I have ever had. Then we would go into the Big Top (our version of 7-11) to get a candy necklace to chew on for the long walk back. After more swimming we would slowly pedal home...becoming fewer in number as the kids turned into their own driveway. On days we didn't go to the pool, there were the endless hours of playing with the water hose. It was really cool when we got a trampoline and you could put the sprinkler underneath it. We also spent hours floating boats (any stick would do) down the irrigation ditch. Of course, after dinner, the fun began again. We had endless hours of playing flashlight tag, red light/green light, throwing the glow-in-the-dark frisbee and lying in the grass staring at the sky. Everything seemed so much safer then. I'm sure there was danger around, we were just too naive to realize it. Then before you knew it, it was Labor Day. I used to dread Labor Day. That meant that the summer was over and the drudgery of school was starting again!