Carefree Summer Days

The past few weeks I’ve been remembering the carefree summer days of my youth. No worries or stress, just fun filled days doing whatever I wanted. I could walk less than three blocks to the public library and find a book on any subject to read without the pressure of school and trying to get good grades. Our back yard was a perfect place with a covered patio to relax in the shade and read.

There was time for drawing paper dolls and designing their clothes to wear. I liked to crochet and cross stitch and kept busy by making hand made treasures for my “hope chest”. As a teenager, I loved sitting down to the piano to play and sing my favorite songs. I spent hours sitting on my front porch playing the guitar and watching for a certain boy to drive by in his blue Volkswagen.

On special occasions like the 24th of July, we would celebrate by eating out. I was so lucky to live less than a block away from Glade’s, the best place in town for hamburgers, fries and milkshakes. Back then, a milkshake was only 25 cents and they had so many flavors to choose from. My favorite was raspberry, so thick and delicious that I savored every spoonful.

There was always time for playing games. Our back yard was the gathering place for croquet or basketball. If it was too hot, my friends and I would play board games to pass the time. My favorite was “Life” where you would get an occupation and fill your car with pink and blue pegs that represented your children. That game never prepared me for real life where my van would be filled with 8 kids and days would become busy and hectic.

Yes, times have changed and life gets more complex as the years go by. Next week, the last of eight children will be getting married along with the arrival of another grandbaby, number eighteen. Now at family gatherings we will have as many as 36 people, but life is good. The rewards for years of hard work and facing the challenges of raising a family are many. My family is the greatest source of joy to me.

There is a song about happiness I learned a long time ago. I searched out “Charlie Brown happiness song” on the Internet and watched the cartoon of the things that bring happiness to children. It mentions food like ice cream and pizza, but my favorite phrase is “having a sister, sharing a sandwich, getting along”. It made me decide to take time out of my busy schedule to enjoy the simple things in life and share them with my family.

Homemade Ice Cream

4 cup fruit (peaches, raspberries or strawberries)

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cups sugar

4 cups cream

1 can evaporated milk, chilled

6 cups milk (or more)

Chop or mash the fruit and combine with lemon juice and sugar. Let it to sit for 15 or 20 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart ice cream maker and add milk to the fill line. Put the lid on tightly, add ice and rock salt and freeze.