~and I trust they are doing just that~

Even though the calendar doesn't reflect it, we are now moving into the third week of what we all call summertime.  It's sometimes hard to explain to kids and even imagine ourselves that the official start date of summer comes well into the month of June.   Spring lingers on, at least until the 20th.

I think about the kids that I had this past year at Petrolia and all kids for that matter, wondering just what it is they do for fun these days.  In one of the very last writing assignments I gave them, the writing prompt was to tell me about how they planned to spend their very precious time this summer.  Their responses were varied, ranging from sleeping in every day until noon to swimming every day they could at the local water park in Wichita Falls.  There was a scattering of other ideas like hanging out with friends, going on vacation to see their families, and being "connected" technologically to the world outside of the confines of their homes.  

It was interesting to read their thoughts and to watch their faces as they wrote.  They seemed happy, eager, and ready to say "good-bye" to school and enter the realm of summer vacation.  I can't say that I blamed them.  

I was ready too.

50 years ago when I was the same age as most of them now are, life was so different for a kid in the summer.  Leastwise, it surely was for me.  1966 seems more than a lifetime ago now and even though I'm now 60 and several of my brain cells have taken their own kind of special vacation, I still remember those days of my youth and some of the great things we did to entertain ourselves during the hot and dry summer.  As I recall them now this morning, I'm guessing that some kids today wouldn't even want to try having fun the way we used to.  It worked for us though.

In 1966, we had one television.  It was small, black and white, and the reception was sketchy at best.  If you turned the tin foil covered rabbit ears just right, you could bring in a pretty decent picture out of the stations from Wichita, Kansas.  There were 3 of them.  Yes, you read that right.  Only 3.  We didn't watch much of it though because running it used costly electricity and when you come from a farming family of 9 people in all, you have plenty of other things to pay for besides the light bill.  There were no cell phones for us to call our friends on and the one phone we did have was actually on a party line.  Lots of neighbors along the way knew when we had calls come in.  I tried to explain that concept to students once and they really thought I was making it all up.  Computers were not even heard of by most folks and certainly no one even dreamed of a time when technology would bring such a vast array of gaming systems for kids to try out.  

Life was so much simpler.

So in 1966, kids like me had fun in the great outdoors.  Luckily we always lived in the country and away from the sounds and traffic of the city.  I liked living that way.  We went barefoot all summer long, hoping to goodness that we wouldn't step on any rusty nails or other debris on the ground that would necessitate a trip to the doctor's office to receive a tetanus shot.  We played on the tire swing our dad built us before he left for the harvest and every once in a while we had a rope swing that hung from the tree across the driveway from our home.  We used our imaginations and went to worlds that we never had seen before as we read book after book after book.  

When it was raining outside, we kids stayed indoors and even though we watched television a bit more than normal, we still found ways to stay busy and occupied.  An old Monopoly game kept us entertained while some of our very best math skills were honed as we made our way around the board, buying and selling properties.  My sister and I cut paper dolls out of the old Sears catalogues that our mom saved back for us.   For hours we could find ourselves cutting out fancy furniture, dishes, linens, and anything else needed to keep house for the paper people that we chose for our very own.  Strange how strong our memories are of times like those because to this very day I can recall the names we gave to the 3 little babies whose pictures we cut out from the baby section.  I can't remember where I put my car keys sometimes but I can tell you their "birth" names.

They were our triplets named Carolyn, Marilyn, and Sherilyn.

The days will pass by quickly and before they know it, kids will return back to the classroom for another 9 months of learning.  My hope and prayer for them all will be one for safety and lots of fun.  In fact, my parting words to them that last day of class were these.

"I love you guys.  Be safe and be sure to have lots of fun."
I trust that they are doing just that.

We had so much fun with our 4th graders in May as we enjoyed our field trip day here in Burkburnett.  I miss them!