August 14, 2000
Summer Days & Nights of Nostalgia…
Have you ever been in a situation when déjà vu strikes you and your memories sneak up and smack you in the face?
Last week as I was driving in to work I passed a golf course and looked out. I watched the foggy dew hover above the grass and watched as a deer munched on some flowers. Then the other night I was sitting on my deck when a small breeze hit me. Both the morning dew and the breeze reminded me of summers spent in Wisconsin in my young teenage years.
When I was a just a wee budding girl, my childhood friends and I would spend the last two weeks of August at a summer house. The house belonged to two of my friends – sisters A & K. Their parents would take A & K, G & T (other neighborhood friends) and me to “The Land”.
My memories of those years of my life are something I will never forget. What an unbelievable, simple fun time we all had.
Our days were spent lying in the sun, either by the river that ran through their property or on the deck of the house. Sometimes we’d play baseball in the front yard and take walks in the local graveyard at dusk.
Occasionally we’d visit some family friends of theirs that had a farm. We’d go horseback riding and get to ride on the four-wheel motorcycle. We’d cuddle the wild cats that roamed their property, walk in the fields alongside the cows and play flashlight tag at night.
I remember one year we all sat on the floor of the house watching the Olympics on TV. We were so in awe of all the athletes that we were all convinced we could be gymnasts if we had just put out minds to it. So the next day, we all practiced cartwheels and flips. By noon we had decided we were better off laying in the sun.
On T’s birthday one year we were celebrating outside and somehow a cake fight got started. It quickly turned into a major food fight that even Mr. & Mrs. got into. By the end of the night we were covered in ketchup, cake, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato’s and bread crumbs – pretty much anything we could get our hands on. After it was over, we all jumped in the river to clean off.
I remember such silly things - K & G putting my hair in about a 100 Bo Derek braids {when they took them out, my hair was a blonde Afro – not a good look}; K putting a Ziploc baggy on her forehead, grabbing a butcher knife and pretending to be Julia Child; G getting sun poisoning EVERY summer, having her forehead balloon out, but refusing to stop laying out; A ironing her clothes relentlessly {collars up}, even though we were the only ones who’d see them; T being far too young for half our conversations, but we’d never exclude her; Going to the famous Wisconsin Supper Clubs and ordering either broasted chicken, fish fry or prime rib; Trying to sneak Miller Lites out of the fridge, terrified that Mr. & Mrs. would catch us.
The best part of those vacations was just the closeness I felt with those friends. We were inseparable. There wasn’t a thought or a dream that we didn’t share with each other. As we lay in the sun we’d talk about life and dream about our future. We said we knew one day we’d be married, but we’d all still live on the same block. We said our kids were going to grow up together and be just like us. Our husbands would be best friends and we’d barbeque every weekend. We just knew.
We grew up and late in our teenage years I drifted apart from the group. By the time I was 18, I had moved away and started a new life with my own apartment and met new friends.
Years later when I was invited to one of the girls weddings, it reminded me of what I had given up, what I had lost. Those girls were a direct connection to my childhood. We had so many memories locked up in each other that we could film 10 8-hour Lifetime Movies and still have stories left over. As we laughed and danced together, I realized that I still wanted these friends in my life and would always.
When I moved back onto the “block” I was able to see some of the girls more often. So now we see each other at parties, weddings and baby showers. Three of the four are married with children and one is in a serious relationship.However, whenever we’re together, we laugh and carry on as if we were still 15.
Those summer’s were some of the best in my life. Sometimes I wish we could go back. Maybe we should.
I can see it now. We leave our current lives behind, grab some 80’s music – Wham; Bananarama; Wang Chung and lay on the river rocks again.
How cool would that be?