writers workshop: summer vs summer

My Childhood Summer….

I’m taking this back to elementary school.  Sixth grade.  Right before the transition to Middle School.

My childhood home was in Shawnee, Kansas.  It’s not as small as it sounds but it’s definitely not as big as it is now.  I lived closed to the “new” pool and the library.  Almost every day, I would walk to this pool and meet up with various friends and classmates.  We would hang out in the deep end or jump off the diving boards.  I would only be up there for a couple of hours at a time.  I would go home to eat.  I can’t remember what I ate, it wasn’t super fancy.  Sometimes, when I had a few doll hairs, I would venture up to Sonic for a drink.  Even back then, they had dollar drink specials.  Some days, I would walk up to the library.  I liked to read, I also liked the fact that I could use the computers.  It was cold in the library.  Kansas summers are HOT!  I went to summer camp for a few weeks.  I went to Camp Oakledge.  This camp was disbanded last year and Girl Scouts sold it for way less than it was worth.  It had 3 or 4 miles of lakeside property.  The corporation that bought it will eventually portion off the property and make a killing selling condos and houses.  I think it will be a couple of years before this happens though due to the backlash from the community.  I would hang out at my grandparents’ house and eat dinner with them quite a bit.  I walked a lot.  Sometimes I would walk to the “old” pool and use the payphone to have my grandma come pick me up when I was done.

My Children’s Summer…..

This summer, we have traveled a lot.  It’s only mid-July and we have two vacations under our belt.  When we haven’t been traveling, my children walk a lot of places also.  They venture up to the McDonald’s and grab a snack.  They like the gas station near our home, they pick up snacks there.  My daughter enjoys hanging out at the park near our home with our friends.  She spends a lot of time In her room, watching Netflix and on her phone.  My youngest son enjoys the public pool.  He has to get rides though because it’s on the other side of Turner, too far to walk. The community pool is actually in the high school.  My son rides his bike.  He goes to his friend’s house, near our home.  He plays a lot of Play Station and Xbox.  Like I said, Kansas summers are hot.  Sometimes, it’s just easier to stay inside.  The house is nice and cool.  My daughter is going to summer camp.  She is going to Camp Daisy Hindman, one of the few that is still open in our area for Girl Scouts.  My children don’t have to worry about calling people from a payphone for rides, they all have their own phones.  My oldest son has been working all summer when we were not on vacation.  He works as a kennel assistant at a vets office and he loves it.