TGIS - Thank God it's Summer!
Well, almost! It's not technically summer yet but the weather is nice and the days already feel lighter, lazier.The meaning of summer has changed for me over the years. When I was a kid, it was 2-1/2 months of nothing. No more homework, early bedtimes, or alarm clocks. Swimming in the lake, basking in the sun. The nights were warm with no need for a coat. It was true bliss! Then I grew up a bit, and though I still was in school, summer meant a job to earn a little bit of money. But there was still tons and tons of time for being lazy!
Then I graduated from college, and the real world fell on me. It was summer, but I still had to get up early. I still had to go to work. All. Day. Long. And I had to be in bed at a decent time so I could do it all again the next day. Didn't matter if it was 85 and sunny. There was nothing worse than being at work and looking out the window at a gorgeous day. The only time for relaxation were my two days off each week. But Mother Nature didn't always plan her rain schedule by my work schedule.
Fast forward a few years to mommyhood. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with my kids and work from home. It use to be a home-based business; now I stay home to write. And it's a combination of both of my old worlds. I can stay up late and sleep in if I want. I can make rainy days my work days, though I do still have to work on sunny days. I love the flexibility my life now has. My husband has wacky days off and they are different each week. While school is in session, we rarely get the chance to do anything as a family. But in the summer, our daughter doesn't have school and dad's days off are everyone's days off!
What was your favorite part of summer when you were young? And now?
A huge thank you to Talli for having me! And thanks to everyone for stopping by! I wish you all a fabulous summer. Any fun plans? All commenters will be entered in a drawing to win a digital copy of my newest release, Soap Dreams! All commenters will also be entered into a Grand Prize Drawing to be held at the end of my blog tour!! A signed copy of A Bitch Named Karma (US only, sorry) and digital copies of both Paradise Cove and Soap Dreams.
Summer always seemed never-ending, and to me meant days on the beach, swimming in the sea, or as I got older, working in one of the beach-front cafes. Pensioners and cream teas.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post. It made me smile!
Out after breakfast with a packet of sandwiches. Back for tea. "Where have you been?" "Nowhere."
ReplyDeleteYeah, life was simpler then :)
Hello Stephanie - we meet again!! Yay for your book tour!!! Summer for me these days mean hayfever and birthdays. Mine!! yay!! Take care
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Summer for me meant swimming. That was pretty much it. Every day.
ReplyDeleteWriting at home as a full time job is a dream. Congrats on the book, Stephanie
When I was small I used to look forward to the oaccasional trip to the beach, now I live 2 minutes from the beach, strange how life turns out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Talli for having Stephanie on your blog.
Yvonne.
I loved playing in the neighborhood until the sun went down, especially when it went down late!
ReplyDeleteIf only I was still allowed to stare out windows and enjoy the sunshine. I'm stuck in a white-walled office where windows are only shared with the executives (and they're normally out of the office). I love the summer for the BBQ's and the family time. It's the time where everyone is happy.
ReplyDeleteOutside on a warm humid night on the puffy chaise longue in my baby doll PJ's staring up at the stars.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie. its great to meet you. The best part of summer was to take off with my friends on our bikes and go to far away neighborhoods. We'd cruise all day long and cover many miles. We's stop to eat lunch somewhere, then off to explore new neighborhoods again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! Summer as a child always meant playing outside until late and mad family picnics. (That's the family AND the picnic!)
ReplyDeleteThe best part of summer these days? The amazing fresh tomatoes and lettuce, straight from the garden to the plate ... Yum!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Stephanie, on the release of Soap Dreams :)
Wow...everyone's summers sound so similar to mine!!! Well, except for Ellie's tea...we didn't do that! :) But I love tea now!!!
ReplyDeleteJen, i wish I would have worked somewhere without windows...so i didn't know what I was missing. But oh no...huge picture windows right next to me.
Thanks for all the great comments!!
Thanks Talli for having me!!!!
What a great question!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about summer when I was young is the same as it is, now-- the lazy sense of promise in the air.
Our relationship with summer certainly does change over time. That childhood lack of responsibility was awesome! So many kids are now pushed from camp to camp.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the real world rude awakening. At least I had a decent transition since I worked part-time starting at age 16 and took summer classes in college.
Good luck finding your future mom balance.
When I was around 14 or 15 a bunch of us used to hang around our neighborhood together. We'd walk around making mischief (nothing serious), or just sit on the curb in front of my house shooting the breeze. Those days were awesome!
ReplyDeleteNow my favorite part of summer is getting out and enjoying the gorgeous weather in Western New York, showing my toddler all the cool things that I love about this area.
I just left a comment and Blogger ate it. Sorry if it also shows up. Anyway, summertime was playtime. We had to go inside when the streetlights came on.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of summer growing up was the swimming pool. My neighbor and I used to wake up, go for a walk at 8am and then just hang out at my pool or hers. I think so;e day we didn't even shower. lol.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and congrats to the author!
ReplyDeleteLove summer. I do. I am off work and can write and then watch really bad TV while constantly eating snacks. Oh and maybe I can go outside once in while too.
My favorite part of summer is how long the daylight lasts. I can sit outside and read until 9pm! But I remember being little and thinking it was so unfair that I had to go to bed when it was still light out, haha.
ReplyDeleteWhenever summer comes along i think how nice it'd be to be a teacher and have summers off. They sure knew what they were doing when they chose that profession, LoL!
Ahhh I loved this. The weather's not hot yet here, but I feel summery already. I'm pregnant so I fear my summer won't be quite as exciting as I'd hoped! Love the look of your book :-)
ReplyDeleteSummer's always been my favorite season & when I was a kid I used to love to go swimming.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of summer when I was younger was always the trips to the lake with my cousins. Great interview. I'm looking forward to checking your book out.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Stephanie, on your book release! My favorite part of summer is being able to breathe again (work at a school).
ReplyDeleteSummer as a child, a teen, an adult has always been about the swimming. As a child I looked forward to the Lake water being warm enough. Now, I swim in the sea.Thank you for sharing a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteStill spring here in Seattle, I'm hoping official summer brings better weather.
ReplyDeleteYep, summer was an endless expanse of fun and relaxation when I was a kid. Now, it's pretty much the same as any other season except really hot and with lots of lousy mosquitos. I do like it though, because I love to swim, and, best of all, go to the beach! I also like how green everything is.
ReplyDeleteI love the laziness of summer, too. The beach (when I've been close enough) is indispensible.
ReplyDeleteNot being a slave to the school schedule is my favorite part. :)
Summer growing up was usually never really lazy. Too many chores to do at home with 8 kids and a mother who loved to find cleaning projects for us. Don't get me wrong, we had our quiet times to read and play. My brothers and I always had some pretend scenario to play out. There were enough of us to play softball and we did, we were surrounded by woods and with a nice stream flowing through. Dad dammed it up and them deepened the natural pool area in the lower part of our yard and put down sand. We spent hours swimming there or going as a family to the river and swimming. Dad also did lots of cook outs in the hot summers--what AC? So the parents showed us how to dance, we told stories, played hide and seek.
ReplyDeleteNow? Summers are still for swimming. I again live in the middle of the country surrounded by forests and a stream. I work from home so I'm not on a set schedule.
Then and now, always books were part of my summer.
Sia McKye's Thoughts...OVER COFFEE
Spring is my first favorite season, then summer. I love the sun and the looooong days. :)
ReplyDeleteSummer was always hay bailing for me - walking up to the local farm, working 9 hours shifting bails in the summer heat, drinking stale pop under a hedge-row with the farm boys, boiled potatoes, peas and bacon for tea.
ReplyDeleteAhh, Summer. 2 months of freedom. Freshly mown grass, sunny blue skies and a refreshing breeze rustling the trees, making that "shhhhh" sound. There was a contentment in that - very peaceful. I loved that feeling when I was young.
ReplyDeleteAh! Such great summer memories are revived in my mind. We didn't know how good we had it at the time did we. My best summer memories come from when I was old enough to just take off exploring during the day--first on foot and later on bicycles. Each day was a great adventure and the days seemed so long back then.
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Tossing It Out
Congratulations on the release of your book, Stephanie. We start our winter months now. Summer was BBQ on the beach and sea sports.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing Stepahnie to us, Talli!
I used to love the summer as a child. Now I love it for the lighter evenings and occasional warm days, but as you say, the working world doesn't stop. I hope to one day be able to be a stay at home working writer, but until then, I keep plodding on. Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteWith me, it's not so much flexibility as it is chaos!
ReplyDeleteI used to love summers, because we'd spend so much time up at my grandparent's cabin swimming. Now it's just hot and humid with no river for swimming. (There is a river, but it's disgusting!)
Sounds like a great book - love the cover as well.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! I'm so overwhelmed with comments!!! My hugest apologies for not replying yesterday!! (I was out of town for the day!)
ReplyDeleteSo many awesome summer memories!! Thank you for sharing them with me!!!!!
Just did the drawing for a winner of a digital copy of Soap Dreams...and the winner is L. Diane Wolfe!! Congrats!! Everyone else is still entered for the big Grand Prize at the end of my blog tour!!!
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