Summer as a Kid

7/30/2026

I long to return to that sensation we had as kids when the summer seemed to drag on forever. The days were long and carefree. We could sit under a tree for hours and play in the dirt with simple toys, building imaginary worlds or just noticing the clouds or plants or shiny stones on our path. Time seemed to stand still and we were always surprised to hear our mother calling us for dinner.

I remember spending the whole day at the community pool, swimming with a friend and taking breaks to eat candy or ice cream on the grass. We would ride our bikes all over the place and knock on other kids’ doors to come outside and join us. Nobody had water bottles— we just drank from the hose of whoever’s house we were at. There were long games of kick the can until it got dark and we were called inside once again.

We were never afraid of anything and caught the bus independently. Sleep-overs were common and our parents never worried about vetting the parents who invited us over. As long as they lived on the same street, they were deemed automatically safe. I am old enough that our play was never interrupted by cell phones. We carried coins to use a pay phone in an emergency or we would ask a friend’s parents to use their landline.

Nowadays, summer seems short. It’s here and gone far too quickly and then we long for it all winter. Right now, it’s pure heaven sitting outside on my shaded balcony reading or swimming in the nearby lake. I will try to make the most of the season and get outside as much as possible.

What do you remember fondly from childhood summers?

Young boy playing with wooden toy cars on grass near tree in park

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8 responses to “Summer as a Kid”

edcoonce

July 31, 2026 at 7:49 am

It was a warm late summer of 1957on the farm, the corn was being harvested, and I remember hearing on the radio that Russia had just launched Sputnik, the first satellite. My mother had us all go out just after sunset so we could see it, a bright little pinpoint arcing slowly across the sky.

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1. Naomi Lane
  
  July 31, 2026 at 10:42 am
  
  What an amazing memory Ed! I just had to research the Soyuz space program for book 2 of my trilogy so it’s funny you mention this now.
  
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gillian1951gmailcom

July 31, 2026 at 10:00 am

I loved the summer holidays. In England our break was considerably shorter than in Canada, so we tried to take advantage of those few weeks. My friends and I were lucky enough to live in a new subdivision, just a few houses away from a a dairy farm. During the day we’d often head up to the fields to make daisy, chains, pick mushrooms, pet the cows, watch the milking, pick blackberries, gather bluebells and sometimes explore the WW2 Pillboxes along the country lanes. We walked a lot and had endless adventures, usually carrying a bit of bread and butter and water to see us through the day. Most of us had working mums, so we were on our own as far as deciding how our day would go. As we grew older we would save up our pennies to take a bus to the beach near Southend Pier. There we’d spend the day hanging out in the water and eating our simple picnics until it was time to go home for tea. The long evenings were usually spent playing street games until dark.

I rarely saw my parents during the week, as they were still at work during all of our mealtimes. But this was normal for myself and my friends and the freedom we had as a result was wonderful. We had no spending money, no use of the phone ( too expensive) and no TV, since the programming only started later in the afternoon. These were great times.

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1. Naomi Lane
  
  July 31, 2026 at 10:41 am
  
  It’s so amazing that we both visited Southend pier in our childhoods, albeit only once for me. I think we were somehow meant to be friends.
  
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Lissa Johnston

July 31, 2026 at 10:50 am

Ed’s comment reminds me we were out at the lake, probably Lake Grapevine, when we heard about the moon landing in July of 1969. I remember looking up at that hot summer sky and just being astonished at what was going on up there.

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1. Naomi Lane
  
  July 31, 2026 at 11:06 am
  
  I also remember watching this on the TV. It was a huge moment that captured us kids’ imaginations. It’s kind of surprising there hasn’t been more human contact with the moon since then.
  
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DK

July 31, 2026 at 10:17 pm

This evokes so many memories for me. One summer when I was in grade 7 going into grade 8, I was invited by a friend’s family to stay with them for all of August at their cabin in Birch Bay Washington. We spent most of the summer in the arcade playing pinball machines, eating candy and ice cream. There were so many kids our age and we played games and just walked around the other cottages and hung out.
This other summer I spent with another friend in a cabin on a lake, that summer I learned how to water ski and catch fish.
When I was much younger we spent the summer with our grandparents. Grampa was a Shriner and once he took me for a ride in his little car around the front yard. There was so much freedom in the ‘old days’ and there weren’t any distractions, and you made you own fun. You came in for supper when my mom whistled with 4 fingers in her mouth. Great times and great memories.

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1. Naomi Lane
  
  August 1, 2026 at 8:28 am
  
  It certainly does seem like the best of times, but I’m sure every generation feels this same nostalgia. Thanks for sharing.
  
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