Sunday, June 14, 2015

Hot Fun In The Summertime

Since summer is officially only a week away, I thought I'd get a jump start on my summertime post.

Several years ago when I flew back to Florida to visit my family, my whole perception of summer changed. As you know, summer has never really been my favorite season (and it's still not), because I can't stand being overly-hot. Yet somehow by going back to Florida for two weeks, I started to see the enjoyment in what the season brings. For those of you who may not know, I used to LOVE the sun and heat. But right after I turned 45, I went through male menopause (MAN-O-PAUSE), in which extreme heat became physically painful for me to endure. And I still don't like it. However, I've learned to adapt to summer (and the heat) by changing my outlook and embracing it for 2 1/2 months. Because really, there is not much else I can do about it except complain, but that only makes it worse.

So yes, I'm getting into summer. I've even started to get a TAN.

It's funny though because I was born here in the northeast, where summertime was such a BIG deal growing up. However, after living in Florida for 20 years, the weather is pretty much the same all-year round, so it's not really a big deal when summer arrives there. In fact, most Floridians can't stand summer because the heat and humidity is SO intense. Yet being back north again, I've slowly returned to my seasonal roots; enjoying certain things about summer.

Today, I would like to share some of my favorite childhood memories.

There were several ways in which we would cool off on a hot summer day.

Slip'n Slide

This ad is from 1961, so you can see why it says, NEW AMAZING INVENTION. Isn't that hilarious? But back then, it was an amazing invention! My family had one of these and boy, was it ever FUN. Wheeeeeeeeee!

Running through water sprinklers.

My family also had each one of these pools when I was a kid.

However, one of our neighbors had one of these in their backyard and we were all so envious because it seemed like a REAL pool.

*Check out at the various prices. Back then, $119.95 was a lot of money for a pool.

Badminton

Summertime meant playing badminton in the backyard. Whenever my family would throw a picnic, we would whip out the badminton set. Fun, fun, fun! I actually prefer badminton over tennis.

Oh, and speaking of picnics, here were (and still are) some of my favorite picnic foods...

Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob (with butter and a little salt), Sealtest ice cream, and watermelon. I can eat watermelon 24 hours a day in the summer.

And let's not forget a nice cold Coca-Cola from a glass bottle!

Another thing my family would do during the summer was play miniature golf.

My father was a huge golfer, so he and my mother enjoyed taking us to a miniature golf course during the summer months. And whenever we would go to the Jersey shore (Wildwood Crest) for a week's vacation in July, we would play miniature golf on Hunt's Pier. I'm not a golfer, but I do like miniature golf because I enjoy the "putting" aspect of golf.

Summertime Music

Whenever I hear certain songs, I am immediately transported back to my childhood. Even now, whenever I hear them, I get that fond summertime feeling. Isn't it something how music holds such strong memories?

I leave you with a song from Sly and the Family Stone - Hot Fun in the Summertime...

Have a GREAT Monday, y'all! 

X 

 P.S. And because of the season, I changed the color scheme of my blog to be a bit brighter and more summer-like.