Summertime

Now that it's summertime, I got to thinking (dangerous activity) about my summers as a kid. My mom was a single mom who worked full time so I was a latch-key kid starting in the 2nd grade. Since I was an only child, she didn't want me to read cooped up in our apartment every day so she managed to find families from church that would take me on. I hung out at Michelle's who had a great big pool & backyard with a trampoline and treehouse. They even had a swimming instructor come to their house and teach us swimming! They also had a beach house in Newport Beach so I went with them for a few days too. Michelle was really nice but we never really clicked as friends...she was more spoiled and bratty too and I think my mom didn't want me to turn into a brat. So it was on to the next family. Another wealthy family with 3 boys (one was my age) and one girl (teenager). They had a huge pool so Matthew & I swam all day and stopped long enough to eat bologna sandwiches for lunch. I can't remember doing anything else but swim at their house.

Another summer, I spent with my best friend Kathy. They also lived in the same rich neighborhood but didn't have a pool. If we wanted to go swimming, we had to walk to the tennis club about 3 blocks away. Boo. That summer was spent on bikes. We each had a Schwinn bike with the banana seat and rode those things around the cul-de-sac for hours. We did pretend things like play secretary or office and Barbies. We watched The Monkees and picked our favorite guys. I liked Mike and Kathy liked Peter.

My mom did a good job keeping me busy and interacting with other kids. I was already a shy kid so I think it helped me come out of my shell. Kathy and I really clicked in the second grade and that's where I became more outgoing. We continued to be best friends throughout grade school and when she moved to Oregon during freshman year of high school, we wrote letters to each other all the time. We still keep in touch but not as often (unfortunately). So I wonder what memories Tyler and Joshua will get out of this summer?