I'm sure we've talked about this before, but this time of year I often think about my summer childhood days. I left the house after nine in the morning. Came home for lunch or ate at a friend's, came in for dinner at 5:30 sharp, then hit the sidewalk again until dark and sometimes later.

We sweat like pigs and could have cared less. We skated, biked, jumped rope, built tents, played tag, made up games, wrote stories, taped one another, ran in the rain and had the time of our lives. I rarely see kids out playing these days.

What are some of your favorite summer memories?

Barbara Hannah Grufferman was talking about this exact thing last week on our blog, " Voices of Baby Boomer Women."

She said,

"Summers in Brooklyn during the 60s were amazing. No one locked their doors. None of us went to camp. We had to rely on our own creativity to stay entertained day in and day out. I don’t even remember adults in our lives during the summer except when they fed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Otherwise, we were out, about, biking, putting on plays, breaking open rocks with a hammer, playing stoopball, handball in the park, roller skating (not blading!) with the key hung around her necks.

It’s was just fabulous beyond belief. We were never bored, we barely watched TV (but found time to read — a rule handed down from my mother).

At night, everybody would sit outside on the stoops of the attached houses, gossiping, and watching over us as we continued to play even after it got dark..."

For more of her reminiscences, go here:
Voices of Baby Bomer Women

This brings back such fun memories. I remember playing Capture the Flag," and "Mother May I?" But one of the most amazing things we neighbor kids did in the summer was to chase after the Village's mosquito fogging truck, which drove around at dusk.

We delighted in hiding ourselves in the fog.

Wow! How scary is that thought?

Anne

My childhood was pretty much the same only we lived next to a creek where we would catch crawdads and my dad and other dads helped us cook them and then roast marshmallows.

I was a skating fool, key hung around my neck too.

The best part of summers was when all the familys on the block sat on one anothers porchs and talked while we kids played and caught lightening bugs. Bike riding was a really big deal then too. I totally miss those times and wish they would come again but that's not even possible.

Living on a farm, doing the haying was the big event. Friends
and I went horseback riding, trail riding etc. Then in August,
was the county fair. We entered cattle in the 4-H Exhibits.
Our folks' drove us to and from the fairgrounds all week long.
Loved that. We played "Hide'n Seek," rode bikes, and went
rollerskating a lot. I miss all the animals, a dog named
Penny and my horse Skylark.

Last night the miracle of miracles occured, it rained here in Vegas. Not hard by any means but sprinkled for about 35 minutes and I went out and walked around in the cooling, fresh rain water. I got soaked, and that's what I wanted. Walking in the showers reminded me of being a kid again and of this thread.

Dotsie...we did everything outside...if I were inside it was either because I was in trouble, having a meal, going to bed or watching Ed Sullivan. Other than that we had out butts outside playing...wonderful times my grandchildren will never know because of how dangerous it is to let a child, unattended as we were, play outside.

I think of our grandkids as ROBOTS today. Ebverytime you see one of them they are holding some type of digital game, or playing on thr computer or watching TV, but theres less and less of that too.
I too was like Dotsie, rarely indoors except for the same reasons she gave and we were all rosey cheeked, trim and full of healthy energy.

Today childhood diabetes is running rampant along with other diseases, pale skins and dark circles. That is just horrid!

I was waiting at a stop light the other day and glanced over at the car beside me...it was filled with teenagers and they all, including the driver, had a phone in their hands texting...probably to each other...

yes, all of our improved communications have led to less actual face-to-face communication. These kids don't know how to interact, or to interpret someone else's body language.

As a child, I was reading constantly -- but outdoors on a bench! When I wasn't sitting and reading, I was running and playing.

This is lovely. I too remember spending all my summer days outside. And you are right, we hardly ever see kids playing outside anymore. I heard one mother say to her child (as a punishment), "If you don't behave you'll have to spend the afternoon outdoors." And they had a lovely backyard. AND it was a beautiful summer day.

I remember as a kid hearing the reverse. "If you don't behave you won't be able to go outside and play." That was horror to us, so we behaved (most of the time).

I was blessed to grow up without a TV. My dad got rid of it when we were little kids and started getting us outside. That one decision changed my WHOLE life. I can't recommend it enough to parents. I still don't own a TV. I never miss it.

Such a big world and so much to see and do.