Summertime...when the living was easy...

photo: Matthew Mead Style

Summer, in many ways, is so much more than it was when I was a girl. Summer in 2008 has exploded into something that is both wonderful and rather ridiculous, depending on how you look at it. We've come so far since the summers I spent as a child, and like everything else, what we are left with, is what we have created...

When I was a girl in the seventies, summer just was. It happened, we experienced it, but we certainly didn't plan for it like we do today. Summer vacation was just that: a vacation from school. We had neither the means, nor awareness, that summer should include vacations all their own! Sure, there were families that packed up their tents or campers to set off on camping trips, but we certainly didn't; and the notion that summer vacation should include perfectly planned, stimulating outings was simply foreign to us. We certainly didn't travel far, and we were none the wiser.

To Canadians, barbecuing = grilling, and compared to now, it was simple and unsophisticated. We barbecued hot dogs, hamburgers, and that's about it. The stainless behemoths of today did not exist; corn was boiled, not grilled, and tin foil was for wrapping up left-overs - not for making pouches to steam asparagus drizzled in butter and lemon juice.

Trips to the beach were also easy peasy. Bathing suits were optional, in the sense that boys just as often wore jean cut-offs, while girls took impromptu plunges in their terry cloth one piece ensembles. Little ones were often stripped down to their undies and given a pail, shovel, or even a washed out margarine container to dig in the sand. Sunscreen was unheard of, and pink skin was the norm after a day spent frolicking at the beach. Beach chairs were a luxury, remembered only sporadically, and mothers often tossed their bleach spotted towels at us to lie on. As for snacks, I don't remember if we took any or not - but if we did, they would undoubtedly be no match for the virtual smorgasbords we mothers pack for our children today. Back then, we were more inclined to strain to hear the familiar jingle of the ice-cream man, sending up a silent prayer that our mothers had enough nickels and dimes to treat us all.

Even something as simple as lemonade stands were simpler then. I remember lugging an old box down to the curb with a jug full of warm TANG, a few cups, and strong hopes to earn some change for our hero, (yes) the ice-cream man. In my house, Tang was orange juice, and even then, I found it a foul brew. I was only too happy to sell it at my stand, so I wouldn't have to drink it at breakfast...

I imagine it must have been easier on our mothers back then, too. I don't remember our mothers struggling to "entertain" us all summer. In fact, we hopped on our bicycles and returned only at mealtime for the most part. I didn't know too many mums who were doing crafts with their kids, carting them from activity to activity, or the like. Even flower gardening was more rudimentary: holes were dug for seeds or bulbs, fingers crossed, and flowers seemed to bloom anyway. I have my doubts that hundreds of dollars were spent at garden centers by our parents...Yes, we were less wasteful back then. Clotheslines were the norm, and it was common for mothers to chat across fences while "hanging out the clothes". Folks gardened more, shopped less, and in a nostalgic way, life just seems easier looking back. However, then I remember the Tang, snapping the ends off of countless baskets of green and yellow beans, and suffocating in our car - crammed in between too many brothers and my sister, choking on a mixture of dust from the dirt road we lived on, cigarette smoke from my dad, and the hot, humid air coming in the windows of our non-air-conditioned car.

Yep, some things were easier, better even...but then I think of the modern inventions and conveniences that we enjoy today. Summer is great, now and then, and it is to be enjoyed for what it is....rain or shine!