When I was a kid, my family lived far out in the country…or at least it seemed that way. I remember those country summers with great fondness, and probably more than a bit of time-induced nostalgia.

As summer neared its close, I and my beloved younger sister-sidekick awaited with mixed hope, dread and anticipation those manila envelopes that would reveal the name of our teachers for the coming year. Meanwhile, she and I spent our days searching for kittens in our neighbors’ hay barn, picking wildflowers that grew by the side of the road, and roving fragrant, alfalfa-laden fields in search of grasshoppers to cup gently in our hands, so we could watch them launch to freedom, from our palms.

In summer, it was almost as if there were two different worlds — one for adults, who unbuttoned shirt fronts and lifted hair from the napes of their necks. their voices lazily punctuating the hum of fans. Our summer flowed even more languidly, for weather and temperature had little consequence.

To us, each lovely, hot, sunny, summer day made the cicadas sing and gave us reason to wade all the deeper into the cool, sun-dappled water of our neighbor’s creek, in search of polliwogs and minnows. Our pup Patty — named for the Saint on whose March 17th date she was rescued from the pound — often splashed alongside, sending creek critters scurrying, and thwarting our attempts to bring home a surprise specimen to our Mother, from whom we inherited our love of animals.

I realize those summers of my youth are from another moment in time, deliciously preserved in memory.

As the end of summer hastens, I invite you to think about, and savor those smells, sights, sounds and memories you cherished during an earlier time. Retrace one of those moments with someone you love by eating s’mores, collecting shells on a beach, catching fireflies, creating chalk designs on the sidewalk, playing a game of softball, or whatever activity allows you to recapture the joy of childhood’s dog days of summer. 

In the photo above, I am on the left at about age 7, my sister on the right at about age 6 and our pup Patty is center.

Originally published in the August 30, 2018 issue of Beyond the Nest’s weekly newsletter.