Childhood Summers Reboot!


We had it great as kids. There was time to play for three months in the hot season. We got to splash, have sleepovers, lie back in the grass and study the clouds and wax philosophical about life. We had big dreams, big adventures, big crushes at the public pool.



We may have grown up, but why not inject some of the simple summer pleasures of childhood?




See if you like butter.




Catch lightning bugs.



Eat the watermelon - outdoors - and get sticky.



Create a daisy chain necklace.







Blow some dandelion seeds and make a wish.



Chase the ice cream man!



You don't need a pool. You need a sprinkler or even a water play pad (the new rage). 






Feel free to turn some of it into more adult twists, like this Kool-Aid Cocktail -

Kool-Aid Cocktail
1 package Tropical Punch Kool-Aid
1 cup sugar
1 quart water
1.5 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 bottle (750 ml) dark rum



I am well known for keeping a bottle of bubbles and wand near the tub, near the bed, in the home office, on the back patio. Once they start floating away, you can't help but smile and feel reconnected to the childlike source that once blew a bubble and marveled at what he/she could create. In the drugstore you can find on the seasonal aisle or kid's toy aisle very cheap bottles of bubbles. Even encourage guests by setting out wands and bubbles on the bathroom counter. 



Camp in your own backyard.



Chew a childhood favorite.



Enjoy childhood candies - like the 1960s faves - 









Hit the public pool - don't forget to do a splash bomb!



Don't avoid the puddle - make it your new play place.




Have a sleepover. Paint nails. Put on clay masks. Talk about boys.



Set up a slip and slide and teach the grandkids how it's done.




Stay armed with a water pistol. Have a few around for spontaneous shoot outs.



Refresh with a childhood memory like YooHoo, Kool-Aid or Tang.



Water balloon fight! Get the spouse, friends, kids, grandkids and neighbors to join in.




Fly a kite. Go for something epic - 









Consider staying in a treefort for your vacay. 





Don't forget the fireworks!




Find a local drive-in. Go old school for your entertainment.



Gotta workout and stay healthy - why not hula hoop it? How about climbing a rope ladder or a rock wall at a climbing gym? Water slides and rollercoasters are also great ways to relive the sensations. You never feel more like yourself than when you are throwing your arms up in the air and screaming - something adulthood doesn't promote but childhood adores. 


Sometimes, it's just the music of your childhood that brings it all back -









Me in a tree circa early 1970s. 


ENJOY and have a SAFE summer!

Comments