While sitting at an ice rink watching hockey practice and without any warning my mind wandered back to summer days as a child living in Maine and felt compelled to make a list of my unforgettable summer memories . . .
~ The slam of a wooden screen door at the farmhouse.
~ Catching fire flies with my cousins at my Ohio grandparents’ lakeside cottage.
~Snapping green beans with my grandmother
~Early morning fishing with my grandfather (grandma fried them for breakfast in cornmeal and my favorite part was the crispy tail — don’t think I could eat those now!)
~ Playing in the woods with my brother and floating things down the creek for hours.
~ Skunk cabbage
~ Whipporwills
~ Making trails in the tall grasses . . . spit bugs
~ Necco wafers and horehound candy
~ Strawberry shortcake suppers
~ Gramp perched high on the tall red tractor
~ Billowing curtains in the breeze
~ Winning an AM radio
~ Nights in White Satin
~ Sharing homemade rootbeer with our neighbors
~ Hiding under the covers when late night thunderstorms struck
~ Ice cold lake water
~ Rhubarb pie with ice cream
~ Bike rides on country roads
~ Pungent smells of bread & butter pickle preparations
June 20, 2011 . . . thankful for the rich childhood that I had.
