How I spent my summer vacation

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy … Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high …” – George Gershwin, 1934

Anyone remember those “how I spent my summer vacation” essays when we returned to school in the Fall? Not surprisingly, I loved those essays! (Always a writer!) I enjoyed sharing my North Carolina vacations and trips to the lakes, riding bikes with my friends, sleepovers camping out in the back yard, trips to the Blue Ribbon Dairy for ice cream, Fourth of July cookouts, and fireworks at Forest Park.

Why am I waxing nostalgic about those so-long-ago summer times? The other day I was caught off guard as the local news was reminding us all that school started for some last week and others this week. It is July! Before you remind me that students get a long Fall break, Winter break, and other extended days off … IT IS SUMMER! Yes, I am showing my age here, but I know that many of you have experienced those long summers with some of us recalling that we did not start school until after Labor Day! ‘Tis true!

Meeting up with friends on a nearly daily basis at the Forest Park swimming pool was a highlight of the summer activities. Playing outside until it was dark trying to catch “lightning bugs” was a passage of summer. Until I was a teenager, we did not have air conditioning so my bedroom window was open to the sound of crickets and other little night creatures while the circulating fan brought some breeze and comfort on those hot nights. Summer mornings were a little lazy before leaving the house to find my friends. In those days here in Noblesville most of us adolescents were outside our homes most of the day as we did not own/use/have any concept of electronic gadgets. When I was finally forced to come inside after dark for a late dinner and bath, I sometimes tuned in to an episode of My Three Sons or one of my dad’s favorite westerns.

My teenage summers included of course the days at the pool with my friends as well as parties and dancing to the tunes of the local British Walkers band playing “Wooly Bully” and “Surfin’ USA*.” My first “car date” was spent driving around Ramsey’s Drive In and then on to the Jim Dandy for a marshmallow coke delivered by an energetic carhop!

As my own sons grew up here in the ‘80s they were of course involved in local sports activities and we spent hours at the Forest Park baseball diamond many days throughout the summer. The kids were otherwise on their bicycles visiting neighborhood friends and playing outside.

Thank you, dear Readers, for joining me on this trip down memory lane. Times change, of course, and I understand that fully, though I do reminisce for the days when children were afforded a long, not-too-scheduled summer to recharge those batteries and enjoy the great outdoors! Our nation’s children deserve a break in the action for their physical and mental health and, truly, don’t we all deserve it?

*Two of those original band members are still going strong along with my husband Bruce as “The Rugged Brothers” band.

Sharon McMahon, CNWC

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace advice of your personal physician or licensed health professional. Please consult your physician for any issues you may have related to nutrition or fitness activity.