Do You Remember?

It's summer. 

Remember what that used to mean?  You and I would play outside from sunrise to sunset - usually barefoot and donning messy ponytails and summer shorts or a sleeveless cotton dress?  Remember?  We would roller skate and hopscotch and tell secrets to our BFF's? We would freckle and skin our knees and run home for a bandaid and then back to each other's houses again.  We would practice our cartwheels and rollovers in the thick summer grass. We would hula hoop and jump rope while we recited our beloved rhymes.   We would ride our bikes with their bells and banana seats and baskets wherever we wanted with no hands holding the bars and we would climb trees.  Remember?  We would make up silly songs and yes we would sometimes burp.  ;-)  We would let one leg dangle from the branch and let it swing back and forth.  We would eat cheese doodles and slurp down popsicles. We would chew pink bubble gum and blow big obnoxious bubbles and let them pop.  We would talk about the cute boy next door and giggle so uncontrollably and pinky swear and cross our hearts and hope to die. 

Do you remember?

Let's do it again.   

 

xo,

Kim

Comments

[Tracie~My Petite Maison]

Hi Kim,
I was the one with green hair (from chlorine, of course ;) and scabs on my knees from all the falls on my bike. We made shake a pudding by running around the block and ate Space Food Sticks... remember those? Thanks for the smile, you're the best, sentimental Kim!
xoxo~Tracie

[Kathleen]

Hi Kim, Your post brought a smile to my face ! I sure do remember! As a matter of fact I Found a childhood friend after 42 years! Wow what fond memories came flooding back. The carefree days of summer and childhood. Blueberry bushes,dogwood trees,bike rides, the 5&10, and waiting for the good Humor man.....Thanks for the memories Kim

[Kim]

Oh, I do remember! What fun it was-catching polliwogs, taking our sandwich to the park and then using the waxed paper to make the slide more slippery! And when the street lights came on it was time to head home.

[Cindy]

Yes Kim, I do remember! My favorite thing to do was to climb up as high as I could in the tree in our front yard. My best friend and I would share all our secrets up there...and of course, talk about the cute boys that we liked! I had to laugh about chewing pink bubble gum...I can't remember how many pieces I put in my mouth, but I remember blowing the bubble that was about as large as my face and it popped...I had gum on my mouth, my nose, my eyelashes, and even in my hair!! Needless to say...I never did that again. LOL...
Thanks for bringing back those memories.
~Cindy~

[Julie Harward]

I do remember most of that...I never did have a real bike though...but I lived in trees and the loft of our barn and on the back of my horse. I grew up on a farm and there was work to be done too...such a great life! :D

[D'Ann]

I was the one climbing trees and riding my bike with the plastic/wicker basket off the handle bars - barefoot.

I would also draw pictures to sell at my yard sale along with with mimosa blossoms.

And, I loved building tiny towns with forts out of sand and mud

[Jill]

I remember too... This post warms my heart, and makes my inner child smile.
Hugs & a pinky swear to never forget,
Jill

[pogonip @ meadowsweet cottage]

And we played hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids too until it got too dark and our moms called us in.

[Kim]

What a fabulous reminder, How could I ever forget all that wicked fun! ~Cheers Kim

[Laura]

Oh Kim. You have such a wonderful way to have us really remember things from way back. Oh I was smiling ear to ear when reading this and yes the memories just came flooding back :) I agree, lets do it again :) it's what keeps us young. Have a great rest of the week!

[Loree]

Ah yes, how well I remember. There is no lush green grass to roll on here in summer but we used to climb up trees and then sit on the branches and dream and dream ... ride our bikes home when the sun set and do it all again the next day. Such fond memories :)

[Janet]

Kim, your post made me smile inside! :-) We'd climb trees or sit on the walls between our homes; swim at the neighbor's all afternoon (she was a mom who welcomed ALL of the neighborhood kids); have sticky faces, from eating root beer popsicles; ride our banana-seat bikes; play tag and "Mother, May I?"; talk about our favorite songs on the radio; and come home itchy, from rolling and lying in the grass! On a really special day, we'd get to walk to the local market, about a mile away, for a treat. And, if we got to stay out after dark, we'd play hide and seek or "Boogie Man in the Dark," where we'd hide, then jump out and try to scare each other. Such fun, carefree days! Thanks for taking me back there. :) Enjoy the rest of the week!

[Patti VZ]

What fun, Kim! Not sure I can ride the bike without holding onto the handlebars anymore though. :)

[glor]

What a beautiful blog you have. Your pictures are simply gorgeous. Its very restful and pleasant to be here. Will be back to visit some more. Have a wonderful day.

[Marianne]

Kim
Ahhhhhh Summertime as a child. I remember well and sometimes my next door neighbour and I remember. Hopscotch, jump rope, double dutch, and I remember eating watermelon with my friends and seeing who could spit the seeds the farthest (what fun - not lady like at all) I think I shall try that again. Puddle jumping in the rain too!
Thanks for the memories and the chuckles
(((Hugs)))

[Kathi Layfield]

Ahhhh, memories. I remember all those. One of my favorites was playing "jacks", even on the sidewalk where my pinkie would get skinned playing jacks so much. Don't forget catching "lightning bugs" and putting them in jars. I also remember making chains out of dandelions (sp?). Loved climbing trees, even if I did fall out of them once or twice, he he. Love my bike, I could ride all day and find all kinds of adventure. On rainy days, I loved my playhouse with all the furniture.

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. You're the best!
xoxo, Kathi

[Nancy Collins]

Hi Kim! Yes, I do remember! All the things you recalled and more. We used to play hide and seek at dusk until our parents called us in. Of course, we also ice skated and belly flopped with our sleds! We swam, played with our dolls, and paper dolls on the screened porch and drank lemonade! The list goes on and on. But it was all fun and fun remembering. Thanks, Kim.
Love all your beautiful flower pics. I also had a tuna sandwich.

Smiles and Blessings,
Nancy

[Mary]

I remember making necklaces and bracelets by tying clover stems together. :) Drinking Grape Kool Aid or Funny Face Strawberry and eating peanut butter sandwiches on rye bread with grape jelly! Yum! And the sandwich and chips were always wrapped up in wax paper bags. BTW-I bought a box of the wax paper bags recently just because!!! I wanted a piece of my childhood back. I had a great childhood with lots of good memories. Now where did I put my jump rope!

[rita larson]

I do remember, and that's a far greater feat for me than most of you. Even my children's summers were many summers ago. Thanks for a glimpse back, Kim. You can always do it! And I was beginning to think I didn't like summer any more.

[La]

I too had a Stingray bike with the flower embellished basket on the handlebars and the funky banana seat. I remember being a lemonade stand entrepreneur and catching fireflies after dark.

Great memories! La

[Lynda Bee]

What a wonderful post! Those were the days !
We never realized just how much we had it made in the shade!
Have a great day Kim!

[Terri]

Oh, yes, fun summer memories. I didn't climb many trees, but I do remember riding my bicycle without holding onto the handlebars, running and playing outside until dark, waiting on the ice cream truck song to be heard so I could scrounge for change to get my favorite treat. Aw, thanks for reminding us of summer simple pleasures.

[Judith]

Kim, you have brought some wonderful memories. "Those Where The Days". Enjoy you day. Hugs

[Dena]

Oh Kim, if I close my eyes I am there again - laying on my tummy on the rag rug with a coloring book while the fan whirred...deciding what crayon to pick next, or playing Marco Polo and knowing that my nose was so sunburned that it crunched when I smiled. Swinging higher and then leaping like a circus girl to the ground, or being absolutely sure that I was moving when the ocean pulled the wave back in. Sigh...do you remember "Say-say oh play mate?" Watermelon Bubbleicious bubble gum (yum)! Wait, I'm going to run home and get my jacks, I'll be right back!

[Rhonda]

Loved your description, Kim, I could see it all! I enjoyed my bike that had a banana seat, basket, and high handlebars. :)

[Stacey]

You just described my childhood to a T! Great thoughts today.

[Barbara Anne]

Oh! I pre-date banana seats but all the rest is true of my childhood. I was the short, skinny girl who - for a time - could run the fastest and climb the highest in trees. Remember "skinning the cat" on the Jungle Gym? In my neighborhood, we has crab apple wars using trash can lids as shields. The grown-ups wrote their house numbers on the lids so we could put them back correctly!

In Memphis, we waited for the Merrymobile for our popsicles, fudgesicles, ice cream sandwiches, and push-ups. The Merrymobile was a brightly painted round, open vehicle with a circus tent roof and it played music so you could hear it coming.

Smiles and hugs!

[Carrie@ My Kinda Boring Life]

Summers for me meant spending time with my grandparents. My grandmother and I would cook and bake all sorts of yummy food. All of us would work in their garden. Oh, the yummy things we harvested!!

In the afternoon we would sit on the front patio (out of the sun) and watch the birds and chat with the neighbors. So many fun memories. Simple, stress-free days.

[Renee]

Of course I remember. But my bike was before anyone thought of a banana seat.

I remember forts in the woods made with found items. I remember jumping on mattress springs that were found in the woods. Hopscotch, Barbie dolls, 1, 2, 3 redlight, Mother May I, Red Rover, 25 cent matinees on Saturday.

Hearing the ice cream truck as it came up the street.

Yes I remember.

[Kristie]

I remember doing all those things. I also remember the neighborhood kick-ball game and flashlight tag and drawing all over the sidewalks with chalk (not the fancy chalk they have today) and walking to the store down the road to buy some candy and stopping by the soda machine to get a little jolt. If you touched the soda machine in just the right place and at the exact same time you touched the icecream case you would get a little shock. Still not sure what the appeal to that was.

[janet]

I remember riding my bike wearing baby doll pajamas before bed. Remember them? You could slip the elastic down your shoulder and feel very grown up. Nights at the Drive-in Theatre playing on the swings (again in the Baby Dolls) before the cartoons started. Sleeping in the back of the station wagon once the main feature came on. Playing Statues or Red Light Green Light in the dewy grass ay twilight. Such fond summer memories! Thanks Kim

[Jen]

......m e m o r i e s.....:)

nice Kim....thanks

[mary]

yes, yes all of this! And I loved getting a season ticket to the community pool and swim the day away with Beatles music playing in the background! Paper Back Writer-Ticket to Ride-I wanna Hold your Hand!!!!! Beatles collecter cards with bubble gum!
Playing with the original aqua colored Easy Bake Oven! Creepy Crawler maker from Matel! Mister Softee truck with it's tinkly music playing, going down the street selling ice cream for 10 cents.
I love this post. Thank you KIM!
ox mary

[Deidra]

I remember. Thanks for stirring it again.

[mary]

oh, and eating hot dogs without a care or thought about the fat and calories!

[Patty]

Wonderful memories. Did you live on the same street with me? Sounds exactly like our days. ;-)

[Alice]

So good to bring back childhood memories, Kim. We were oblivious to the HOT weather and at night we would spend time catching fire flies, putting them in jars just to see them light up. Oh the skinned knees from falling. I live right on a river which gave me the opportunity to swim every day. I loved it. Thanks for bringing those memories back today.

In His Grip!

Alice from Arkansas

[jennifer D]

Very sweet Kim. I spent many days exploring the sage brush and catching polywogs. Actually... things haven't changed much! ;0)

[Shannon Olson]

And summer seemed to last forever, each day was so precious. Couldn't wait to get out of bed with the first peek of sun and went well into dark. We used to walk to the dairy queen with a dollar or the store for a coke and candy bar. (barefoot even) thanks for the memories!

[Maria]

i chuckled, oh so true- every last word you said - wonderful memories - thank you kim for bringing them to lite - i feel young again. i loved my childhood. i remember playing in the mud and making mud pies and then had an all out mud fight - thank God for patient parents because, i don't regret that and had so much fun. we need to loosen up with our kids and let them be kids and sometimes have fun with them and give them memories at home. get that water hose and wet them unexpectedly, see the smiles on there faces and laughter and our own joy come out. boy,you sure took me way back - thanks again -

love ya, maria -cottage feel-

[Vicki]

and collect bottles to buy the latest Bobby Sherman Record!

[Kimberly]

Oh yes, I remember. My mother and I were just talking yesterday about the Weeping Willow tree in my front yard that I would climb all the time. I would get in under it's long branches, weeping to the ground, and pretend it was just my room. I had a green and yellow bike that I loved. I miss those old banana seats! The ones now are so uncomfortable! I played a lot by myself and with my dog, and with the neighbor's dogs. I was the only girl on the street. There were four boys, but only one was my age. From time to time I would venture over to the surrounding streets to pay though. One of my friends moved to Texas, and I would play with her on her summer visits. Those were the good old days. Thanks for evoking suck precious memories! Blessings!

[Wendy]

Ah, childhood. We dont appreciate it while we have it!

[Carol Adams]

Great memories Ms. Kim!!

It's a different world now. Some good some bad

I remember having to be hogtied to the dinner table to eat because there was just too much playin' to do outside.
We went out and stayed outside until the streetlights came on.
I loved growing up in a small town where we could ride our bikes to the city pool and swim all day long. We would have a break for lunch and we took our dimes (?) and bought a frozen ZERO bar at the little snack stand across the street. Then we'd go back in the pool until 4 or 5 when we'd ride home on our bikes.
No sunscreen then for sure.. ha ha that was the days of ladies using baby oil and iodine to get a tan... ha ha.
One of my BFFs was auburn haired and was very freckled. She layed outside hoping that she'd get more freckles and the'd all come together and look like she had a tan.. ha ha.
Ah... great memories..
Love the song that you have on here..."Crystal Blue Persuasion" Definitely reminds me of those hot summer days...

[ginny]

I remember eating bologna sandwiches and Kool Aid on the front porch. After lunch my mother would make us come in to rest during the hottest part of the day. We would lay in bed reading and then eventually fall asleep. My mom was very wise about naptime!

[Peg]

Oh I had the best Hercules English Racer bike and I could ride everywhere! It was so much fun and I was never afraid. We could dig holes that went to China and everything was so big and so wonderful and it was truly an ever ever land! Why did we have to grow up and now find that we are looking for our never ever land?
In ever land, there were always baby kitties in my grandma's outhouse and chickens who would lay warm eggs and velvet noses of cows and their big brown eyes.
Why do we have to grow up?

[racheld]

i read the entire TARZAN series up a tree the summer I was eight---they and several dozen more books had been a gift from a cousin who had outgrown them, and way up in the limbs was the only place I could hide from my Mother, who did NOT BELIEVE in reading in the daytime.

I was also the only girl in the neighborhood, so I got to be Sheena. My folks never did find out what happened to the sixth steak-knife from the matched set---I taped it with electrical tape all around the handle so it was like all the ones the boys had, and perfectly weighted to flip through the air and land point-on in the target.

Between Sheena and King of the Jungle, I think I spent probably a cumulative six months of my life up a tree.

Charming, girly memories!

[sue silva]

Kim, I remember ALL of that!

I wanna go back, lol!

Sue

[Tracy Barkett]

That post just touched my heart. That's the way my neighborhood was. Never a dull moment.
Tracy
Simply White Vintage

[Gayle]

A cousin and I would design floor plans with rows of leaves and used green moss for wall to wall carpeting. Guess I started all this deco stuff a longtime ago.

[Deb]

I remember it all :-) Oh what fun ... bags of marbles hanging off of bike handlebars and playing cards clipped on to the spokes to make clicking sounds :-) trips to the corner store for little paper bags filled with penny candy washed down with bottles of coke...walks to the library- barefoot of course- and coming home with tons of books - then reading those books under our big weeping willow tree -vacation bible school ~ Summertime fun ♥
Wonderful post Kim ♥

[Jean]

I would climb the neighbors apple tree, eat green apples and sit high in the branches and read my Nancy Drew books!

[Sue]

I am one of the fortunate few who still have that same BFF that I use to bike ride with from dawn til the street lights came on. We did (and do) everything together, we have shared so many secrets, and still have little "signals" that only the two of us know. We liked the same boys and giggled under the covers at sleepovers. We have gone from skinned knees to grandbabies. I thank GOD for my friend, Jennie and how much having her has enriched my life. Here's to those days long ago when life was carefree and easy, and to life now when we can look back and smile - and yet still look ahead with eager anticipation.

[Sheila]

Yes, I remember all those things. And the best part would be after a hard day of play I would lie down across my mother's lap on our front porch swing in the cool of the night, no ac back then only fans. How on earth did we survive? : ) She would sing and stoke my hair while I would gaze at the stars and search for the little dipper.
Thank's Kim
Sheila

[Ann]

Hi Kim. Thanks for letting me stop and remember back to those great summer days. We used to act out "Little Women" (I was Amy because I was the youngest) or play restaurant. Love your music!

[Robyn]

I love this. It's good to remember what life felt like back then. I loved the warm, full smells of fresh-cut grass, running through sprinklers and jumping on my trampoline with the hose spraying it down. Ah, summer. Thank you for the re-visit! :)

Robyn

[Susan Ramey Cleveland]

I remember.

[Cindy]

Memories! My mom had an old chevy white top with baby blue bottom. So for one of my birthdays she bought an old used bicycle for $4. The only thing wrong with the bike was it was a pretty rusty, so she sanded it down and painted it white and baby blue to match her car. I was sitting on cloud 9. It had a bell and basket on it too. Learned how to ride it on our old rough gravel rode. We were country poor farmers, but rich in love. Thanks for bringing a joyful memory back. Cindy Okla

[Lynn Paterson]

Oh boy, do I remember it so well......for a minute, your post took me back to that great time in my childhood. When times were more peaceful, slower, and relaxing. We weren't running all the time. Oh, how I long for those days right now. For a second, I was right back in my Mom & Dad's backyard and in absolute heaven......what I wouldn't give to go back and relive one day of those fun summers!

[christy]

Kim,

Yep...I remember. Me and my best friend Teena had summers together just like that. Have you read the book My First Best Friend by Nancy Lindemeyer?

Thanks for the lovely post as usual!

Christy

[andylynne]

Right behind you Kim :)

[Carol]

Ah yes, I remember! and yes, let's do it again! Summer is my favorite time of year.....probably because of all the great memories...

[Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions]

Absolutely! I've also got catching lightening bugs when it would get dark, running after the ice cream truck yelling "stop!", and knowing your father's whistle calling you home for dinner.

[Pauline]

Oh yes, I sure do remember! And do you remember Mud Pies, Sand Boxes, and chasing a Slinky down the stairs? I remember the field behind our house - there was a big log there that was great for a sailing ship, doll house, or anything else our fertile imaginations could dream up! Yes - let's do it all over again!! Thanks for the memories!

[Kathy Martin]

I do remember! I did run around barefoot all day and my mom used to remove the stickers in my tough soles at the end of the day! I remember making a wish and blowing the seeds from the dandylions and making a whistle out of a blade of grass. I lived in a small Nebraska town where we would gawk and visit the neighbor's outhouse...they still had one of those things! I used to ride a bike that my dad built from bike parts because we didn't have a lot of money. I didn't know it at the time. :) By the way, I'm just 44. Wasn't too many years ago! ;) Thanks for the walk down memory lane! :)

[Anne]

I, too, remember those great summers - going to the library and getting a stack of books - reading them on the bed, the fan blowing on me. I remember the popsicle man with his banana and root beer popsicles. I especially remember sitting outside with my dad in the dark listening to the baseball game on the radio. Thanks for taking me back there. Anne

[Kat]

I do remember! Oh, what sweet times we had.

Hugs,
Kat

[julie]

I remember hula hooping as a kid. It sure made a summer afternoon fly by!

[sarita]

i'm of the age where we roller skated with the key hanging around our neck - and then a few years later take the skate apart and nail it onto a piece of wood - ta dum! skateboard!! i also remember lightening bugs and having to be IN THE YARD by dark! my girlfriends and i walked around the block a lot! talking, talking talking...what lovely memories.

[Trish Rowley]

You hide I'll count to 10 ;) Trish xox

[Sherri@lavenderfields]

My husband and I were riding our bikes yesterday and I was saying remember when you were little riding down a hill on your bike with no hands on the handle bars?? So I said," I wondered if I could ride with no hands now"?? Le's just say it lasted about 2 seconds!! LOL!!

[Sherry]

Finding a low branch tree and making a playhouse under it to play with our barbie dolls. My mom making clothes for our dolls. Going out after a thunderstorm and walking squishy squash thru the nice warm mud puddles. As Bob Hope would say, "Thanks for the memeories."

[Brenda@Coffeeteabooksandme]

Something that always makes me remember summer in my childhood (and teens) is the smell of Coppertone tanning lotion.

I haven't used it lately so I don't know if it still smells the same but it could take me back to carefree days and great memories!

[Carla]

What fun memories!! I remember riding my bike down our huge hill in Raleigh with no hands, standing on the banana seat--I have the scar 40 years later! I also remember riding bikes in our swimsuits to the pool- with a sandwich, a towel, and a quarter to buy an icee!! I also remember the squeak of the porch swing, while reading the Little House or Judy Blume books...I also remember walking to the bookmobile & the T G & Y at the little shopping center 2 miles away and then walking home with my bag of books-I couldn't wait to start on the new pile of books!

[Jennifer Hayslip]

Ice cream truck, lightning bugs, outdoor roller skating with my old skool silver metal wheels, pretending I was Daisy Duke of Dukes of Hazard, and playing school bus in my Dad's old truck. I was the bus driver making all the stops. :) hee! hee! Thanks for the walk down memory lane. :) XOXO,Jenn

[pam]

That was fun reading everyone's memories, and yes - Coppertone still smells the same. When I was a teen we lathered on the Hawaiian Tropics coconut oil. Both of those smells take me right back to my youth!

[Nancy Maisenbach]

The good ole summer time memories! I am so glad you made us remember. Now that I have become a serious adult I need to remember my youth's summers. My friends and I would look hours in the grass for four leaf clovers. As we looked we chit chatted about everything. My next door neighbor and I played Monopoly for an entire summer one year. When we had to quit we just pushed it under the bed until the next free time.The 4th of July celebrations were wonderful. We usally had a backyard barbecue. I loved to go swimming too. Family vacations were fun but I loved going to my grandma's house best. We need to remember! Thanks Kim!

[Rob Poulos]

I remember candy and soda....and hockey!

[veronica mackinnon]

I was so lucky growing up in a small town and living close enough to walk to see movies downtown; to the "dime store'"; i had a few very close frinds and we roamed all around the neighborhood having fun playing in the streets. A small town in the 60's; hard to beat ! Veronica

[tammyCA]

Ah, childhood summers...we played hide & seek in the cornfields, drew hopscotch & ice cream cones on the road (yeah, I know, lol. - but back then it was ok), lemonade & Kool-aid stands (the neighbor girls got an official one), catching lightning bugs, swimming all day & back again at night at the local pool, sitting in my favorite tree for hours, hearing and doing that special neighborhood kid call (owwooooo-ah) to let anyone know they were outside. Such carefree times...it's sad that my kids can't have that kind of freedom & safety.

[Loretta]

First time I've had the chance to read thru these. They all hold memories that I have as a child. they all signify the simplicity of life at its best and how it doesn't take much in material goods or riches to make a memory of the most precious kind. Just God's earth, some good imagination and friends creates a magical theme of joy and happiness that we can tap into for the rest of our lives. Things have gotten way too complicated and rushed. Let's recreate some of those memories for our children, nieces, nephews and friend's children. they just might think it's "cool" too. Like we did!