Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day!


Ah, this is what I would call the official start to summer, not Memorial day because it incorporates the first of many three day weekends in the summer, but because for most of us everywhere the weather is warm. OK for some of us, it's down right miserable and hot. To me, the 4th of July is the kick off of all things related to summer.

Watermelons! Hmmmm! Just the thought of slicing open a ripe watermelon full of seeds or seedless if you prefer and just tasting the sweet juicy fruit that lies within. There is something of a traditional look to summer with red, white and green, all the colors found within that fruit. Notice even the red and white checkered board table clothes call out to that.

Fresh Cut Grass! Again most of us aren't really cutting our grass much in the winter since it's raining, snowing or covered in something requiring you to shovel it off. Wait for summer. If you can get to it early enough though, summer smells like fresh cut grass. I remember waiting for my dad to finish mowing ours so we could spend the entire day planning all sorts of things to do while sitting on the grass.

Bar B Ques ~ Ah! Nothing spells summer like a Bar B Que grilling somewhere. Makes your mouth water just stepping out on your patio and smelling the briquet's smoldering somewhere. I remember when our choices were simply hot dogs and hamburgers. Now we have steak, chicken, fish, shrimp and all combined Kabobs of your choosing. Along with grilled vegetables, macaroni or potato salad or both, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake for desert. Summer is all about eating and grilling.

Hanging outside ~ We spend all winter long couped up inside, looking out our windows in hope of the slightest warm up pondering all kinds of things we want to do when it's warm outside. So what do you do? Basketball, baseball, football, Frisbee, lawn darts, croquet, volleyball, hide and seek, tag, or just watch people everywhere soak up all the love and friendship summer has to offer. It's time where people don't bring cell phones, lap tops or think about work. We honestly take the day off to spend with our family.

Water, water everywhere ~ Gotta love the advancement of your standard squirt gun, now we have water cannons that strap to your back to provide you some extra time to soak your friends before heading back for a refill. I always prefer the standard garden hose, always ready and never runs out, plus if you have the right nozzle you can get just about anyone in reach of three houses on either side. Don't forget pools, whether you blow them up, set them up or simply have one installed in your background, pools are the period to summers. They make those hot days bearable. My kids newest thing...slip and slides! Ah how I love them growing up. Now they too come in all the newest variations, from splash pools at the end, sprinklers that soak you on the way down and race lanes for challenging your friends to the finish line.

Summer is the time to spend with your family and friends and simply enjoy all that life has to offer. If you haven't done so lately, please set aside some time with your family and enjoy the weather but most of all enjoy what summer does for families and friends, it's a time to share and love!

What is your best summer memory? Please share it with me!

9 comments:

Andrea said...

Amen....my best summer memory is simple...watching the kids play and cut up together as they grew older...grilling and playing with the animals.
Hope you have a wonderful day.
Blessings, andrea

Alleluiabelle said...

Happy Independence Day to you!

I, too, love the smell of freshly cut grass. That is one of my favorite starts of summer. I remember learning how to first ride a two-wheeler bicycle (a Schwinn (sp?) in the summer, on the grass. A good friend of ours would run along side of me holding on to the bike and then as I started coming around the corner of our old homestead, which kind of sloped downward, she would let go and that's when I learned how to ride. That is one of my favorite memories...and, it was around the time my dad had just cut the grass so the smell was in the air and very much connected to that event.

We used to have a small store within walking distance from our house. Back then, when glass pepsi bottles were worth 2 cents a bottle you could get a lot of penny candy for two six packs of pepsi bottles...so we used to trot off on foot, sometimes barefoot, to the store with a carton of bottles in both hands. Sounds a little corny, but it is a fond memory of summer back when I was around 11 yrs. of age.

There were seven of us in our family, which included my mom and dad. We used to have two picnic tables and my dad would grill the hot dogs and burgers and we all would sit out at the picnic tables and eat. That was fun too as a family.

Many, many fond memories I hold dear to my heart.

I invite you to become a member of my site, if you feel led to. If so, I also have a guest book at the bottom of my blog page, I would be honored if you signed it.

Blessings,
Alleluiabelle

Yolanda said...

Eating watermelon till you thought you would bust. Having fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from my parents garden. Summer rain showers that cooled the temps and brought a freshness to the air.

Great thoughts.....pleasant and pleasing to my heart.


Lovingly,
Yolanda

Sandra said...

Great post, I remember eating homemade juice pops and playing outside with the neighborhood kids until the lights came on.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I'm so glad you did, I'm adding you to my google reader :)

Have a great day,
Sandra

Chris said...

Fishing with my grandpa at the cabin.

RCUBEs said...

When I was little, my grandma from my dad's side had watermelons growing in her fields. During harvesting season, my cousins and I were taken in the middle of a little hut, where we got to taste the watermelons first before they were harvested and sold. And I remember, we would eat to our hearts' content. We would play, stop and eat, play, stop and eat. It was wonderful time of sharing in a way.
Happy 4th sister Kat and have a great summer! Love and blessings.

Martha said...

I absolutely adored the summer because there was no school!! I loved sleeping in, going camping, and swimming in the neighbour's pool :)

Know what else I really miss? Swinging on the porch swing during the evening, watching the cats cross the streets, and smelling the jasmine from our garden :)

Wow, I haven't thought about it for a long time. Thank you for the stroll down memory lane!!

Crown of Beauty said...

Thanks for sharing your favorite summer joys!

It is a privilege to know your heart more through your on line journal!

christy rose said...

summer at the pool and 4th of July celebrations with a family reunion on my dad's side of the family in Tennessee. It is amazing how thinking back brings so many smiles to my face. Thanks for the challenge to think back at my own summer memories.
Christy