Summer Holidays At Home

^ Thank goodness, the evil Heat Done is no longer cooking us alive, but perfect blue Seattle summer skies are still shining down upon us. 

^ Holidays pose no exceptions to Gracie’s and my walking routine, except that a goodly portion of our neighbors have headed out of town so we enjoy the unusually quiet streets. 

^ “Lay down your phone, woman, and fetch me my supper!”

^ Speaking of supper, I served up burgers, potato salad, baked beans, watermelon, and cherries, a feast of which our Founding Fathers would surely approve. 

Growing up, my family never went out of town for the Fourth of July. 

The Fourth of July came to us. 

So it was for those of us lucky enough to grow up on a lake. Every summer weekend meant carloads of people coming out from the cities - Detroit  and Ann Arbor - to enjoy lake life with us locals. We all lived for those long, lazy days of swimming, boating, and lollygagging around on the dock while watching the endless flow of other folks out on the water doing the very same thing. 

Of course, from breakfast till sundown, we lived in our swim suits. We were in and out of the water all day long, and even a simple shirt or a pair of shorts were too much to manage as we often hopped into the lake at one place and came out a few hours later, water logged and ravenously hungry, at another.  Lunch and dinner were often cooked on the grill and served outside, or at least plates were fixed indoors and carried outside because no one needed a bunch of kids in wet suits dripping all over the house. 

After dark, entertainment shifted from water to fire. Bonfires built along the beach lit up the dark nestled between the cottages and out across the water; we gathered round the fire to talk and laugh and watch each other’s smiles glow in the shadowy flickers of the flames. 

The Fourth of July simply brought these usual summertime lake vibes to a fever pitch, and as the back yards swelled with extra cars full of far-flung friends and family members longing for a respite from the city, we full-time lake people just smiled and welcomed them to the party. 

Honestly, why would we leave this paradise to go celebrate anywhere else? 

* * * * *

These memories flickered through my mind today as my family and I spent yet another Fourth of July happily ensconced here at Streicher Acres. Granted, I no longer have a lake at my front door. But I still enjoy long, lazy summer days with my best source of water, the garden hose. And you better believe I wear my swim suit all day long 

And just as I learned so long ago, the best pleasures in life are sometimes the ones right in front of you. No need to run off in search of rest and relaxation on a sunny Fourth of July weekend; I’m always happy to enjoy my summer holidays here at home.