When I was a child, summertime was the most magical time of year (outside of Christmas Day.)
Who of you would answer any other way, when asked what is your favorite season? We all said - SUMMER!
As I have gotten older, summer became less "magical" and more cumbersome. It's hot, and unfortunately, I respond in a much more negative way to heat. As a kid, it did not bother me. I was never tired of the sun, the heat, the opportunity to just bask in all it's glory!
Whenever I get near a pool, and I hear the laughter and the splashing and the giggles, it takes me back to when I was a child. I grew up in a subdivision of town homes/condos called "Crystal Lake." My family and I lived in a building called the "Mid-rise." We were connected to the "high rise" and our home was a condo of sorts. We had two floors (the 2nd & 3rd floor) that overlooked cute little garden courtyards below us.
Right across the parking lot was "Crystal Lake." Not so much sparkling, but wet all the same. To the right of the lake was the clubhouse and pool. Oh how I loved that pool. Everyday, I would get up, throw on my bikini, grab a towel and rush out the door by 10am. Usually there was a group of kids/teens sitting on the picnic tables by the sand volleyball court, just waiting for the gates to open. We would spend hours playing "Sharks & Minnows" or "Rock the Pool" - only to break, just briefly for a soda from the machine and a quick game of volleyball. I am sure, at some point, we went home for lunch.. or maybe not. But usually by 4 or 5 pm, we would all drag ourselves home for showers, food and possibly a nap.
No sooner than the sun went down, we all went right back out to the picnic tables or the dock on the lake. Some of the teens would be smoking cigarettes, while young "lovers" just sat together. Someone would bring their radio (I think we called it a Boom Box back then,) and we would just hang out.
As we got a little older, and little more adventurous, we would play "Hide n Go Seek" really late at night. There were tons of woods and walking paths surrounding the lake.. and we would divide into teams and actually go hide! It is kind of funny to look back at a bunch of teenagers doing this, but we had the time of our lives.
When I was a senior in high school, my family moved to a house about 4 miles away. I left the comforts of my little world that contained so much summer fun. When we moved to Crystal Lake, I was in elementary school - when we left, I was almost a young woman.
So many great memories are still floating around there. Riding our bikes down the hills, going for walks around the lake, sitting on the benches and feeding the ducks, hours at the pool and volleyball court, learning to drive a stick shift by going around and around in circles of the parking lots..... just so many memories.
At school, our community was well known. The kids from Crystal Lake were a tight group of friends - and it was hard for any "outsider" to break in.
I miss those days.. those beautiful days of summer. There is one song that always reminds me summertime at Crystal Lake.. and I am not sure why.
Here you go and enjoy... But first.. what about you? Tell me about your home as a teen during the summer.
1 comment:
Geez, the memories this post just produced for me are making me really miss those days!
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