Summertime Joys: A Prelude to Some of my Favorite Memories

“Then followed that beautiful season… Summer….
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”

From Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

At the end of every school year, the anticipation of summer vacation overwhelmed my young mind, depleting my concentration level, ridding any desire to think about history, math, science or any subject thrust on us in our final days of learning. Along with my classmates, we would watch the clock above the chalkboard slowly tick toward 3:00 pm. The back of my shirt damp with sweat and pressing against the wooden desk, the entire school sweltering as the box fans were helpless against Summer’s infernal heat. Late May in South Louisiana never failed to meet its annual obligation to give everyone an early glimpse of what was in store come June, July and August. But the moment the final bell would ring, the stress over the heat would dissipate, along with the worry about classwork, homework and tests. Summer, in all its glory, would begin.

What comes to your mind when I say the word Summer? Do fond memories of childhood flood your mind, filling your heart with a happy heaviness, wishing to somehow go back again’? Summer was filled with joy, laughter, and fun. Were there disappointments? Yes, of course. But even today, summertime memories from long ago tend to make me smile.

Summertime brings both memories filled with happiness and sadness. As April turns into May and June quickly approaches, I often have melancholy feelings as I reflect on so many memories from events that happened during the summer.  Is it easier to think fondly on summer because so many experiences happened in a time that was more carefree, simpler, with less responsibility?

I’m reminded of friends who shared summers with me, taking in as many hours as we could, from dawn to dusk, cramming as many adventures as possible into the daylight that had been given to us. Summer reminds me of friends and family no longer on this side of eternity sharing the journey. Summer also prompts me to be available and present to a brief and passing season – one which offers easy laughter among strangers on sunny days, and tomatoes red, fat and ripe from the vine ready for picking, the cool splash of water from a nearby lake, the glow of lightning bugs floating over the freshly cut grass in my backyard while the afternoon heat fades and day becomes night. Summer holds up a Stop sign to our stuffed-to-the gills schedules, giving us permission to relax, pause, reflect.

Summer is an old friend we long to catch up with, knowing she’s only in town for a short time. If we don’t plan to enjoy her presence, she will have flown by, leaving us sad for missing her beautiful offerings and easygoing ways.

If Summer could speak, she’d alert us with her warm smile and direct gaze to the preciousness of the moment. A transitory voice between the seasons of our lives.

I’m reminded of the old adage that in our youth, the days are short and the years are long. As an adult, it’s just the opposite as the days are long and the years are short. The years rushing forward, birthdays and anniversaries coming and going, children starting school, then graduating and before you know it, married, children of their own. Life with all of its joys and sadness, dates and events that shape us, give us meaning, blessings and gifts. Then, out of the blue, a random thought will percolate, a memory will surface, a smile will form, a task paused. Recollections. Reflections.

Baseball games played with an old wooden bat and a tattered glove; jean shorts and a motocross tank top as the uniform of the day; my knees pulled to my chest as my body splashes into a slow moving bayou; a time of spiritual renewal when I spent a week at Acadian Baptist Center for church camp; climbing on the concrete ruins of a long ago demolished cypress mill; week-long trips on the Intracoastal Canal on an orange barge built and steered by Robert Shivers; three cookies wrapped in a napkin, Kool-Aid in plastic cup, arts and crafts and reciting a pledge to the Bible, the Christian and American flags during Vacation Bible School; fishing in bar pits with my dad; pirogue races on the Lower Atchafalaya River for the 4^th of July; smiles, laughter and the making of memories. Memories of Summer.

More summertime musings to follow…