Summer Anticipation

Oh, the deliciousness of the month of May!
As a kid, I couldn't wait for summer vacation to come. It was like Christmas--much anticipated but slow to get here! As a young kid, I learned that the absence of school meant the presence of time to play, play, play. I spent most of my summer days barefoot. I only had to take a bath when I was dirty (which was most every day), and baths occurred at bedtime so as not to get the bedsheets dirty from my rusty feet. (My mother said I was allergic to soap and often threatened to scrub me with lye. I didn't have a clue what that meant!)

Summer meant freedom. We played outside in those days. I was allowed to play until dark, mostly without supervision. (Unheard of now!) As long as Mom knew where I was, things were okay. Summer visits to my grandparents' farm were the best--wandering the pastures, playing cowboys and Indians, catching lightning bugs, collecting "pretty rocks", going to the public pool in Danville, IL, with my friend Susie, making houses for snails and playing in a vacant lot just a few doors down from our house on Orange Avenue in Coronado, California, where Dad was stationed. I remember feeling tough when I picked up a piece of glass in my bare foot, pulled it out, and kept on moving. (Can't you hear the groans of the germophobes now?) I also remember taking a corner too fast on my bike, sliding on the gravel on my side, and creating an abrasion that ran the entire length of my leg, from hip to ankle. I sure remember the bath that night. It stung!!

As a teenager, I spent at least one week per summer in Wisconsin at the house of my sweetheart and his family. We hiked, took picnics, collected agates, water skiied, swam, watched mindless movies, and had a great time preparing for the 4-H fair. The trips to Wisconsin were my own private little Heaven-haven. I was allowed to travel the 500 miles on my own--train from Chicago to Eau Claire, then bus from Eau Claire to Rice Lake. Such adventures!

As an adult, I became a teacher. I used to laugh at my students who "couldn't wait" to graduate and be out of school forever. I mused that I had been in school, as student AND teacher, since I was 5-years-old! I guess students think that teachers don't look forward to summer vacation. Au contraire! There are, of course, lots of things to do to get records completed and classrooms ready for the summer maintenance onslaught, but May has a different feel to it. The days are longer. I could come home at the end of the day with warm temps and daylight to anticipate what it would be like in the few countdown days to FREEDOM! I had about ten weeks to clean, paint...take care of things that I normally couldn't do. The anticipation was half of the enjoyment. I would, of course, always have a longer to-do list than I could possibly accomplish, and there were some disappointing days of lethargy due to the absence of stress, but I couldn't wait!

I'm retired now. Every day is the same as the last, but I STILL feel the anticipation and excitement. Race weekend! End of school! Return of good weather and sunshine! God's in His Heaven; all's right with the world!