Ah-Oh Summer Nights!

I'm tired of the cold weather. So stinkin' tired of it! Sometimes I just find myself sitting here letting my mind drift off to those blissful summer days when I was a kid and wishing that for just a solitary minute I could go back. I'm not wishing away my career or friends or anything of the sort; I'm just wishing away the cold...and of course responsibility!

I found out last week that west Texas doesn't have lightning bugs. I've had a time trying to deal with this. That is probably crazy to you, but I guess I never realized how much the little things of Arkansas really matter to me. In the summer we used to catch lightning bugs all the time. In fact I still act as a child and try to catch them when I'm at my parents' house.

One year my mom bought me a little bug barn with my name on it, and I would catch lightning bugs to keep as pets. I loved watching my room light up (if only for 30 minutes), and I would try to feed them with whatever seemed appropriate at the time. Inevitably they would die, but the light display in the mean time was astonishing. Now I get to help my niece and nephew do the same thing, and it's so much fun to hear them shriek with laughter when we catch one.

Another thing we used to do in the summer was catch June bugs. My mom would cut us a string, and we'd tie to onto a leg of the June bug. It was like a homemade kite! Mom and I still do it, even when the kids aren't there!

And summer camps...always a favorite past time! Whether I was with my church, a single camper, or a counselor, I LOVED summer camp. When I went to Kanakuk, I had a friend named Stephanie whom I got to be pretty close to in those 2 weeks. Of course we lost touch over the years, but we became friends on facebook a year or so ago. She's from the same hometown as my boyfriend (that's still so weird to me), and we've gotten to catch up over the last few weeks. It brings back some good memories of nightly themed dances when we would get all dressed up in some little outfit (like cowgirls, Hawaiian, etc.). But every ounce of confidence we had in the cabin was thrown out the window when we saw those boys on the tennis court in their costumes. The only thing I knew to do then was get an icey-juicey and hide.

It sure is nice to reminisce sometimes and think back to those days of ease, but it didn't seem to be going by fast enough when I was there. My mom always told me I was wishing my life away. But I guess a part of me knew that down the road new and exciting things were sure to come. As much fun as my childhood was, I don't think I'd really want to go back...even for a day. Nothing compares to the life I have now with the people I have in it.

Summers hold a lot of memories, and it's nice to look back on them. But I'm willing to bet that the next couple summers might just top them all.