Endless Summer ...

I actually had a chance to take my days off from work. I had spent the past
Sunday in the community pool with my youngest son. Personally I do not like
to swim. I took to the water much later in life and I can swim to save my
life but not to enjoy the water. Today was different the water was warm and
the Sun was high in the sky. We went in and I think he is part fish he
takes to the water very naturally. Granted his swims with a dough-nut
around his midsection, but he was kicking and crawling. We played tag and
raced each other to the ends of the pool. At one point I had him standing
in my hands and held him high in the air. Jump, splash and a laugh that
could melt your heart. We did this over and over until my arms were sore.
The pool was empty so his time was my time. No phones or emails. No dogs no
distractions. No sounds except for his laughter. I don't know how many more
lazy Sundays we'll have together but I hope I can remember all of them.
Most Sundays I play catch up for the week, laundry , yard work, maintain
the cars, visit my mom and dad, kids clothes, vacuum the carpets and try to
make Sunday dinner. Most Sundays I need a second day off to relax my self.
Arrggg, Calgon take me away... (do they still make that)?

My kids are leaving for a month. I will miss them. I know that their grand
ma and grand-pa need to see them as well. I grew up with out grand parents
so I am very jealous of the kids for having both sets to care for them.
They are lucky in that aspect of their lives. I guess thats what summers
are for. Going away from your every day and exploring. They will spend 2
weeks on the "farm" down state and 2 weeks in Florida. I hope that they
remember these young endless Summers.....

They don't have many friends yet. I remember (granted I was older , 10 or
so) the groups of kids playing hide and go seek, ghost in the grave yard,
bicycle races until our legs hurt, frozen pops, catching fire flies, just
talking,listening to WLS-AM radio, hop scotch,watching creature feature on
channel 9, soft ball in the park, ghost stories...I know I am short on the
list of things that I did, but does it really matter? As a kid you can pack
so much or so little in a Summer day. You can sit on the stoop all day or
go until your drop and be ready to go again the next day.

Peace....

Post script.

Oh god!!!, It came flooding back to me on how much of an Environmental
Terrorist I and my friends were as kids. I lived behind a local shopping
center. Within that center there was a Red Devil paint store. Once or twice
a week they would dump all these half empty paint cans in to the dumpsters.
My Friends and I would grab these cans and walk about a half mile to where
a creek ran in our neighbor hood. We would carefully tap the lids on then
throw the cans in to the creek. We would chase the cans and throw rocks
either in front of the cans to slow down your friends can or behind your
can to speed up yours. Every now and then a stone (5lbs or more) would
pierce a can and a trickle of paint would leak out of the can. It looked
like a chum like attracting sharks. The can would ooze its color out;blue,
red, white and avacodo green. We would go in to a frenzy because we knew
that the can would not be there too much longer. More stones were thrown
and waves were made. All until the cans reached a bridge about 4 blocks
away from where we started from. Again this was pre-Atari or right around
when it all started. I don't know how many cans or Summers we did this. We
would actually go outside and play with what we could.
Truth be told I think this is why I can go to and Earth day
celebrations.... (That and all the neo-hippys **wink)