BEING A KID AGAIN

Summer is here and with it comes another chance to be kids again, to watch the sky, smell the fragrance of freshly cut grass, flowers, wet pavement after a shows, and neighborhood BBQ’s. . The sounds of lawnmowers and weed whackers and the voices of children, the bouncing of basket balls - and the mechanical tune blaring from the ice cream truck waft welcome on the breeze through our open windows.

 

I remember the sounds of ball games on the radio & TV, the yearly ritual of cleaning and spray-painting the window screens, the unique smell of 3-in-one oil that lubricated the old metal box fans…

I remember Friday nights when we ordered pizza all summer long, and often followed that supper with home-made ice cream sundaes. I remember the smell of the water- the Hudson River- and summer storms that were often so fierce that the street lights would come on in the middle of the afternoon, and my Grandma’s odd little ritual meant to protect us from a lightning strike…(which obviously worked, since the building was never hit despite the myriad of TV antennas sprouting from the roof directly over our heads. I remember my mother pinning launder to the line that swung out over the airshaft, and the smell of hot tar as the roof above us practically liquefied in the blistering summer heat.  I often played at the big window where the fire escape was, drawing with colored chalk on the wide slate ledge, wiping it off with a wet sponge, watching it dry in seconds-and writing again and again. Once in a while I’d even take a blanket out and sit on the fire escape in my own little world, a bird’s nest high above the ground with a view of the river where the sun shone like diamonds.

 

I still find ways to relive the best summer moments. Summer is still for watching sunlight on water- now lake Erie, and for daydreaming, drawing and the occasional Friday pizza. Reinforcing what was good and right makes everything come alive both with memory and possibility. I dream up things I wanted to do as a kid but never could- and I do them now! This year I’m gonna get myself an adult size 3-wheeler to zip around the neighborhood in! I will be able to pedal to the grocery store, have some fun, feel the breeze on my face and oh sure, I’ll get some good exercise and rehab my knew in the process but that’s just my excuse for having the tricycle I always wanted but never had. (I can’t afford even a little spill, so a bike is out for now.)  I’m gonna have big fun that will last well into the fall!

 

There were plenty of things that sucked about my childhood, but in summer, when I wasn’t trapped indoors, life improved and I took every opportunity possible to have some fun. You can always find ways to play. Simple, cheap, easy entertainment that will make you feel happy, connected to All That Is,  and happy to be alive! This translates into less stress, better immune function and lost more fun and satisfaction when you connect playfully with others.

 

Do it. Be a kid again…Goof off…lie in the grass and watch the clouds. Build a model, draw on the sidewalk, but yourself a ball. (I bought myself a pink rubber ball and plan to find a nice brick wall to toss it against!)  Watch some local softball games…do what made you happy and especially, do whatever you wanted to do but never could!   It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.