love summer

Ahhh! It finally feels like summer!

We've had a few really warm days and non-stop sunshine. I love it! The windows are open, my flowers are blooming, and my husband and I finally have an extended amount of time to spend together. So thankful.

Today, I'm having tea with a friend, and then I'm going to another friend's house for swimming and shopping - it feels like a childhood summer!

Growing up, I lived in a little brick house in a small town. There was a front porch with a glider swing, a tiny detached garage, and my bedroom with pink carpet and light yellow floral wallpaper. The backyard was huge, and it looked like it extended into forever-big cornfields. My siblings and I would play on our metal swingset and imagine all sorts of things - trips to Africa, re-enacting Red Riding Hood, pretending we were the emergency rescue squad (when the town's daily siren went off, of course), playing circus with the little trapeze, taking the kitties with us down the slide. The backyard was the place where I'd drag my pink "Beauty and the Beast" towel, favorite Little House book, and lemonade, where I'd make dandelion braids, and where my brothers and I would play "Hebrew slaves" and make mud bricks. It was where we discovered birds' eggs and mouse nests, where I collected flowers for mommy, and where we raked big piles of leaves. It was where we planted "bikinis" (zucchini), peas, and corn.

When that big field of corn was cut for the late-summer harvest, I would walk across the (seemingly huge) field to my friends' houses - Alicia, and Bekah. They were a little older than me, but that made it more fun. Alicia and I would paint our nails, and Bekah would show me cool things around her family's farm.

I remember visiting the small town library for the summer reading program, and getting my very own library card. Those were carefree days...

...and I have a tiny glimpse of that today. Thankful!