How I Spent My Summer Vacations, 2/19/07

A lot of my childhood was spent trying to hurry it along, so anxious was I to grow up. Life was brimming with unlimited possibilities and time stretched endlessly over middle school summer vacations. I don't think parents realize the learning curve of idle summer vacations. There's plenty going on.

I spent an entire summer rocking out to KFRC on a blanket on the front lawn of Janine Richey's house waiting for that hunky pizza parlor guy to get off work and stroll by. We'd call the DJs and request songs and listen all day for our favorites. An entire summer, to explore the power of being an emergent woman and to forge a friendship based on peacock blue ink journaling and our common interests in music and poetry.

One summer, I joined the Reader's Circle at the library and kept a chart on my bedroom closet marking off the number of Nancy Drew books I could read in 30 days. During that Summer of Industry, my goal was to buy orange and yellow accessories for my newly painted teen room. So lofty was my goal, I subcontracted my services to adults in desperate need of a break from bored youngsters on hot summer days. I went into business by putting up handwritten notes on houses and church bulletin boards. Imagine these days seeing a young girl's name, age, full address and phone number taped to your screen door.

I once babysat for the babysitter who was hired for a month. She said she needed 'alone time' with her motorcycle riding boyfriend, whatever that meant. She swore me to secrecy and promised a big tip if I did a good job. During those very l-o-n-g eight hours with five closely spaced children, they broke a bathroom window and crawled through it, had 3 neighborhood children in to jump on the furniture and a feverish infant who I could not lay down without crying. I cleaned the house and made meals and kept the children in sight. Since I begged for reinforcements partway into the day, I split my day's earnings equally with my best friend, Louise: $2.50 each, including tip. That summer I learned that secrecy is never a good thing in business dealings, tip or no, and when you're in a jam it's important to know who to call.

The most profound middle school summer was spent stretched out in a bikini with my best friend Lisa until we fried like pieces of bacon, and then skinny dipped in my pool. We danced and dabbled in drugs and played with the popular crowd. It was the summer the most inspirational teacher I've known discovered in me the writer I am. It was the summer my father left for good. That summer, I learned that sometimes things happen when you've done nothing wrong. I felt childhood slip away and adulthood begin its slow descent.

I reflect on those times, again feeling life smooth over my warm skin and seep inward. The experiences let me glimpse how really wonderfully complex the world was going to be. Those summers, more than any others, shaped who I became.

NMcC