Did you ever go to the creek to cool off in the summertime? We’ve been having some hot summertime days around here and plenty of other places are having even hotter days.
On those hot days when I was kid, we’d load up in the car and take off for the creek down the road. Then there was our cousins’ pond we could swim in when we visited them. We just waded in with the mud and the fishes and the snakes. Actually I never saw any snakes or I might have waded out a little faster than I waded in. No concrete ponds for us.
Things have changed some since those days when a backyard pool was the stuff of impossible dreams. Wouldn’t it be nice, you might have said, but you would have never believed it possible. Now it’s not unusual at all to see a pool in people’s backyards. You can spot them everywhere.
Ah, but I still have the creek. And the memories of those swimming holes when I was a kid. They say summertime to me. A time when I might lay down on the cool linoleum covered floor and lose myself in a good book. We had chores for sure, but July was when things slowed down. The first cutting of hay was in the barn. The crops were too big to plow or hoe but not ready for harvest. The garden was just coming on and I could eat tomatoes and cucumbers still warm from the sun. There were always kittens to try to catch and daisies in the field to pluck the petals to see if he loves me or he loves me not. The cousins came to stay with us a week and we would go stay with them a week. The public library had shelves and shelves of books holding out promises to me. A pitcher of ice tea would be on the table noon and night. Sometimes we’d churn up a freezer of homemade banana ice cream.
Those July weeks stretched out long and lazy. Maybe I need to recapture one of those July days. Go down to the creek and wade in or settle down out in the swing with a book and that tall glass of ice tea.
That sounds like summer to me. But my grandkids will have other summer memories. They might remember the creeks too, but they’ll also remember those pools. Their cool reading places will be on a couch in an air-conditioned room. But the library still holds out promises to them. They’re still making memories and enjoying those long, lazy days of July that can be a gift to a child.
What do you remember about July when you were a kid?
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Our family would pack up a picnic and go to the mountains for a day of something special like the amusement park “Tweetsie” , Blowing Rock Park, or Mystery Hill. We would picnic on a roadside table or in picnic grounds with a creek on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other times we would go to a little place near where my Mom grew up to swim and play in the water of Johns River. The water was kind of cold coming down from the mountains, but it felt good on a hot summer’s day. When we had to stay at home, we would play outside, eat watermelon, homegrown tomatoes, and cucumbers. We rode bicycles up and down our dirt road. Sometimes by cousin would come and stay a week with me. The bookmobile would come by our house and I would get several books to read until they came back. It wasn’t all fun and games, we also had to help with the garden and getting vegetables ready for canning and freezing. We had good times though.
Author
That all sounds great, Connie, and I wish more kids had the chance to have those childhood experiences, even the chores and work parts. Working and playing together make a family closer.
Church camps. A park by us had a cement slab that slanted slightly down to the middle and they had put a fountain there and us kids could run through it. Then swinging and riding bikes, the beach, camping with cousins, The Heat!!! My birthday is September 3rd and was always HOT so therefore I remember them! Me and the heat have never agreed!😭And last but not least….READING!!!…until dad gave me a time limit I could spend reading then had to go outside. Sigh!!!
Author
Your dad wanted you to get some sunshine and exercise, Shari, but I remember hating to put my books down when I was a kid and had to go do some chores or whatever. Of course, I sometimes still hate to but my book down when I’m reading. 🙂
My birthday is in September too, but a little later in the month. I don’t remember it being that hot. Maybe I didn’t mind. Thanks for sharing your memories. I am going to imagine running through that fountain spray when I go out in the hot sun today.
In October 1965, my dad bought me my first horse. I was almost 12. From that point my summers were spent trail riding my horse, riding him in parades, swimming him in the strip mine pools and the most fun, was riding him on the Ohio Wagon Train Association weeklong trip every year the last full week of July. The last year was 1970 because after that I started attending church camp in the summer. I gave my life to the Lord, and he continued to bless me with the love of horses.
Author
What fun all that sounds, Rebecca. Your dad gave you the best gift as you had to take care of your horse and find your way with him. I’m imagining the two of you cooling off in the strip mine pools and heading out with a wagon train. That had to be the neatest thing ever. Well, until you gave your life to the Lord and started gathering new blessings.
We had a creek across the street and in the woods from our house. We spent many a summer’s day as Indian scouts galloping on our make believe horses down by the old creek. There were treasures to be found there, feathers, pretty stones, old bones from a long dead animal, the songs of birds and the whoosh of the wind ! Grateful for that time of innocence and make believe!
Author
The time of make believe. That’s the best, Bonnie. I did some of that galloping pretending too and loved finding treasures in the fields and woods. I loved being in the woods and feeling like I was discovering things for the first time.
We loved the creek and cousin time too.
Author
I’m with you on that cousin time, Diana. We had so much fun visiting and finding so much to do outside. Kids miss out on that exploring and coming up with things to do when they are swallowed up by electronics.
We had some great swimming holes. One was down the hill and a hike through the woods. There was a rope hanging from a big oak tree over a deep pool of water. Down stream was a perfect little “beach” with sandy soil where the little kids splashed around. Another great place was a bike ride away and near our church. It’s where baptisms were held , including mine back in the day. We spent a lot of time there. Our church held plenty of potluck dinners there. It also had a nice big field where we could play baseball after the hay was cut.
July is all about baseball, swimming and reading under a shady oak tree. I don’t play ball any more, but I love watching the grandkids games. I have a couple of grandsons that live for the game. One is planning on becoming the next Johnny Bench. 🙂
Summers were also when I visited my librarian grandmother, so a lot of time was spent helping her get organized for the next school year. I can still smell the scent of books, sunshine through the big open windows, and those old polished wood floors.
Good memories!
Author
Such great summer memories, Lavon. Thanks for sharing them. I can see you all swinging out over the water to drop in the cool depths and smell those books in the library. You should write all this down for your grandkids. Oh, and I can’t wait to see the next Johnny Bench and hear his grandmother cheering for him when he hits the big leagues. 🙂