Summertime...and the living is easy...
I've always loved that song from Porgy and Bess. It encapsulates the feeling I've tried to create for my children. We spend the bulk of the summer in Vermont, in a small town. Here's a picture of the small lake where family games are played on the Fourth of July. The canoe races are my favorite event. The men get very competitive, and some of them will always capsize. The children do better.
My older kids are lifeguards at this lake, where they spend much of their time working on their tans, reading, and zipping around on a golf cart. It's not exactly Baywatch!
A big balloon festival is always held on Father's Day weekend. Many, many balloons take off from the green in the center of town and a small-town fair is held alongside.
It's different, beautiful, and very special for a small town event. We can often speak with the ballooners from our deck. They're excited to have an audience.
If you look carefully you can see a golf course. I'm afraid I don't have the appropriately reverent attitude towards golf and the rangers often have to chase me down. (I'm mostly with my kids.)
"We have a report of a junior driving a golf cart."
Whoops.
"We have a report of a dress code violation."
Whoops.
I figure they might as well just send the ranger out with me from the starter's shack, and save him the time to track me down. Truthfully, I like the orderliness of the course; it's my kids that are the problem!!
My summers shrink every year. Weddings, bridal showers, soccer tournaments, etc. They all impinge on my time in this somewhat old-fashioned small town, where we're surrounded by friends and family. Swim team, camp, barbecues and fireworks. I hope my kids have wonderful memories from summers where we tried to slow the pace of their otherwise busy lives.
What do you all do to provide a slice of fun or tranquility to your summers?
6 comments:
Summer gets shorter and shorter every year, doesn't it? We try to get down to our camp as much as possible, but the weekends do fill up so fast. So much to cram into a few months...
Great post, Carly.
Carly, sounds like a great way to spend the summer. Do you go there for weekends or during the week too? I work, so there's no going anywhere for the summer except on weekends. But we live about a mile from the beach, so we're all set!
Natasha,
I love those camps, though the ones I visited as a child were quite primitive. But it is the essence of getting away from it all.
Carol,
We go for the summer but I'm still home now though my kids are out of school. My friends and I have a goal of not leaving once we arrive, but that's not going to work for me this year. Of course, if I lived a mile from the beach, I'd be all set!
Carly
What a great summer you have. I've always wanted to visit Vermont, and still plan to some year in the fall. For now, my favorite non-writing activity is reading or going with my daughter to browse through antique malls and junque shops, and little day trips with my husband.
Caroline,
Vermont is gorgeous in the fall. Not that I ever get to go at that time, but you should some day. Antiquing with your dd sounds so cozy. Sometimes I go with my sister, though she's more the antique hound than I am.
Thanks for stopping by.
Carly
Gorgeous pictures!! I've never been to Vermont. Have you ever been in the hot air balloons for a ride? I've always wanted to do that.
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