A Few Of My Favorite Summer Things

So it is summer... We have had an unusual week for our family. Grace has been taking swim lessons so we have been at the local pool everyday this week. This has been a great opportunity to continue the attempts at exercise I started earlier this month. I had been just walking, but I decided to buy a family pass for the pool, so now I am also swimming laps. That sounds quite athletic doesn't it? Well, I can swim about a half or third of the way and then I have to stop a second and start again. It is great exercise though and I really enjoy it. I did spend a bit too much time pool-side yesterday while Grace was playing after lessons and have a pretty good burn on the back of my legs. Lobster anyone? 

All this pool-side contemplation time this week has me thinking about summer and my favorite things. Here is a list from past and present:

I remembered this week how my Grandma Conner would sometimes put our pillowcases in the freezer for a few minutes before we went to bed.  She also taught me to turn my pillow and the other side would be cool.

Grandma Conner also introduces me to the luxury of a cool bath on a hot summer day.  I can close my eyes and smell the green onions and wild garlic we would pick for her to scramble with eggs.

I remember the smell of the dirt at the baseball field and how powdery it felt when you played in it. (And how Mom made me sit on a towel on the way home!)  The smell of my Dad's baseball glove.

I remember helping Grandma Whatley in her garden and the feel and smell of ripe tomatoes gathered by making a basket out of the bottom of my shirt.  I remember the little bench in her yard made by wedging a piece of wood between two trees and the shade it provided for a lazy day of reading.

I remember the fairyland under a wide arching bush at my childhood home and the cool bare earth underneath it.  I remember thinking tiger lilies were the most exotic looking flower I had ever seen.

Standing in front of the water cooler and feeling a slight mist on my face.

What I love now...

Little brown arms and legs wrapped around me as I carry children in from the van after a long day of playing.

The smell of chlorine, water and sun on my skin.

Coconut tanning oil that I don't use but love the smell of.

The feel of water sliding over me as I swim.

How water looks with the sun dancing on it.

How the air conditioner feels when I come in from outside.

The satisfaction I feel from working in the garden. It is a measurable, visual task that encourages me.

Summer squash, okra, corn and tomatoes.

The smell of the grill.

Sitting with Barry staring at the summer sky.

Life is good,

Love,

Shawna