ABC

M = Marshmellows I'm talking about the roasted kind. Summer is a time for campfires and campfires are a time for roasting marshmellows and roasting marshmellows lead to smores....and that leads to bliss. As a kid when we had campfires roasting marshmellows was an art. I would take pride in roasting a marshmellow to that perfect golden brown and giving it to my mother. Of course, that was after I had already eaten three myself.

N = Nets Not soccer nets, although that has become a major sport, I never got into it because to me it just seemed like a bunch of kids running in a large field. I have a memory of being a kid and going with my brothers to the creek (be sure to pronounce it correctly) and helping them to catch minnows for fishing. How we did this was two people held a large net tied onto two big pieces of lumber and my job was to run down the middle of the creek yelling and scaring the minnows into the net. Years later, I realize the minnows would have swam downstream into the net; yet, I appreciate my brothers giving their baby sister the opportunity to yell and splash and run down the creek herding minnows.

O = Old Movies Several years ago my mother and I spent many late summer evenings watching old movies. Now this was in the era of the video store and I would rent those wonderful old movies that featured the stars from my mother's youth. I became enamored of Ingrid Bergman; loved the spunk of Katherine Hepburn (my Mom's favorite); and fell under the charm of Cary Grant.

P = Picnic Table Summer is a time to be outdoors. At the House of Snyder literally from Memorial Day through Labor Day we ate, weather permitting, every dinner outside at the picnic table that was under the branches of one of the big pine trees. In the House of Snyder we take our tables very seriously because we are family where the table remains the centerpiece of our life together. My father built the picnic table and it remains a wonderful piece of furniture that is huge and heavy and stained and varnished and weather-proofed. At the start of each summer, he would get his level and make sure the table was perfectly in line. Dad also built a small table that attached to the outside dining room window and served as a place for the dishes and food to sit as it was relayed from the kitchen to the picnic table. Those dinners shared at that picnic table remain a clear and celebrated memory of our family at table.

....Yes, I do know my abc's.....

I = Independence Nope, I’m not talking about the grand holiday of summer, the Fourth of July and the celebration of our nation’s independence. I am talking about summer being a season when children and youth begin to take smaller and then bigger and then major strides to independence. Kids stay out later; have sleep-over’s, spend lots of time with friends and on teams, and begin growing their own support systems. Each new support made is a breaking away from the family ties and into the creation of one’s own garment of individuality.

J = Jed When people tell tales of the summers of their youth, there always seems to be somewhere a dog involved. In my summer stories, the great dog featured in my story is Jed,our 120-pound, English style, black lab who came into my life in the summer between my fourth and fifth grade year. On Memorial Day weekend of that year, I accompanied my brother John to pick-up Jed and bring him home. When Jed came around the corner to meet the rest of the family gathered at the picnic table my Mom exclaimed, “I thought you were getting a puppy?” To which we answered, “We did. He’s only 3 months old.” Jed was a big, playful dog who failed to realize his size. He swam with us at the creek; he took our wiffleballs when we played in the field; he spent hours laying next to my Gram as she sat on the glider on the front porch; and served as lookout when Mom and Dad were gardening. Whenever I think of the summers of my childhood, I too, have the Rockwellian touch of those images including a big, black, loyal dog named Jed.

K= Kickball This was the game I played with the neighborhood gang nearly every day of many a summer. The location stayed the same --- our field was the Brenneman’s backyard. We played there so often the bases were permanently etched into the grass because that was the field and we played nearly all day. Of course all the joy and jerkiness of sports was present. We had rules such as three fouls and you’re out and kicking the ball onto the road was an automatic out. With the neighborhood gang, we tried our best to balance out the teams, yet, we with one neighborhood kid we were known to pronounce, “We took him yesterday, you have to take him today!”

L = Lightning Bugs Growing up on a big piece of property with many trees and a big field, this was a prime location for many lightning bugs. As night fell, I would watch for the lightning bugs and was amazed then and still am when there are so many lights fluttering in the summer night. Of course, it was so amazing that one got a jar, poked holes in the lid, and ran to catch lightning bugs. Lesson learned: the light caught and captured is never as beautiful nor alluring.

sj;