Summertime memories

Summertime memories

As summer begins in this part of the world, I reminisce about my own summer vacation memories.

Summer vacation meant sleeping in, watching TV, staying home to read - just plain lazing around. And I liked it just that way. I guess it fit my personality. I liked staying home. I was content to lay around with a book to keep me occupied. I don't think my parents had any problems keeping me busy or occupied. (Right, mom?) I am baffled with how other parents now dread when the kids are out of school. I've seen a number of parents worry about how to keep their kids occupied. I haven't had that problem ... yet ... and I hope I never do. So far, my kids have been pretty good about keeping themselves busy. They play with their toys or ride their bikes in our small backyard( which I am sure they will outgrow soon!). Sure, there are squabbles and they do irritate me with their constant chatterings at times but I am thankful that they are fairly low maintenance. I think I've mentioned this before but one of the things I was concerned about in immigrating here was that fast-paced life, particularly in California. Everyone seems so busy!!! I am trying hard to strike a balance between providing stimulating activities and just allowing the kids some down time.

Summer vacation meant out-of-town trips for our family. We almost always went to the beach, whether they be the beaches of Zambales, Ilocos Norte or Camiguin. We were not a rich family but my parents had good friends! Often, they'd offer their beach homes to us. Sometimes we spent the time in the beach with other families. Sometimes, it was just our family. But always, a lot of fun was to be had. Swimming, good food, card games, board games - simple fun for our simple family.
With my own family now, there hasn't been much of this type of vacationing. I hope when the kids are a little older, we can have regular vacations like the ones I had in my childhood.

Summer vacation for me also meant staying over for a couple of weeks with my cousins in the province. My mom is from Tarlac, about 2 hours drive from Manila where we lived. My mom's 2 sisters and their families continue to live in Tarlac and there I would stay for a couple of weeks. Those were fun times.

As I grew into a teenager, summer also meant hanging out with friends in their homes or in the mall. We all lived nearby. Each one was just a jeepney ride away. A jeepney is the popular mode of transportation in the Philippines. (I would post a pic here but Blogger won't let me!)

Summer vacation was always fun. I always looked forward to it. Even as I was in college, I kept my summers free. I never took summer classes except for that last summer before my senior year when I did my practicum. Even as others were taking advanced classes so they'd finish sooner or whatever, I kept my summers free. I guess I was fortunate that I did not have to take make-up classes during the summer. Well, I work hard the whole year, studying and making sure I get good grades so that come summer, I could enjoy! Summer was my time for myself.

I carry the same mindset to this day. I was looking through our city's summer programs and I was really tempted to put the kids in the many activities they were offering. I stopped myself and decided to ask my son if he wanted to do any of the activities and what among them he wanted to do. We pored through the list and decided on one. It's a mini sports daycamp. They're having it in July from 10 am - 1 pm, Monday to Friday. It's an introductory program to 3 sports - baseball, soccer and basketball. DS is looking forward to it. I wanted to enroll him and DD1 in some swimming lessons too but DD1 is too young for their beginners program. For her age group, they required that a parent swim with the child. No can do. What would I do with DD2? So, although I could have enrolled DS in their beginner program, I chose not to for now. Can you imagine DD1 clamoring to get into the water with DS when she sees him swimming? No, sireee... I don't want that kind of stress. So, we'll wait for next summer when they are both eligible to enter the beginner program.

So, what are your summer plans?
Or what were your summer activities for those whose summers have ended already?
Any favorite childhood summer memories?