Summer is my favorite time of the year. I think it’s because some of my favorite childhood memories took place during the summer. I spent lots of time in the water and camping during the summer growing up. Those are still some of my favorite things to do. My favorite memories are the warm summer days many members of our extended family would show up at different times to my grandparents house. We’d pile in and squeeze our bodies onto their sectional that had the itchiest material. Kids would always end up on the floor which I didn’t mind because they had really soft shag carpet. It’s kind of ironic now that I think about it. We’d laugh, visit and the grown ups would all tell stories. When we were little and got tired of listening we’d go outside and dig with spoons in the front yard or search for rollie pollies under the car port. Sometimes, we would pick up the rotten pears that had fallen from their pear tree and throw them at each other. They never had toys, or cool things to play with but it was one of my favorite places in the whole world. I remember those being some of my favorite summer days. We would usually always end up eating supper together. Whether it be Holly’s or Mamaw’s cooking my heart always felt full.
It’s funny the simplest things that you remember from your childhood. My favorites weren’t the expensive ones. It’s truly the memories of a big family squeezed into a little house, reeling in a fish and being brave enough to take it off the hook yourself, your life flashing before your eyes when your dad has thrown you clear across the lake from the tube, a thunderstorm while sleeping in a tent, watching my Papaw eat three cobblers at Underwood’s but not getting the whipped cream to make it a little healthier, jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath, orange push pops, dad cooking a big breakfast on his Coleman stove, Holly’s for supper…
I pray that my children will look back and have childhood memories like mine. These are the days that they are making them and it’s going by in a flash. I hope they always remember:
Swinging on the hammock with your brother,
Glow in the dark bubbles that Honey brought camping (that Poppa thought was going to stain everything),
Day Camp at White River that helped instill how DEEP God’s love is for them,
Rusty boy and his love for swimming and fetching sticks,
A dad who never missed a moment,
A grandad who left a legacy of faith and farming,
summer nights on the four-wheeler and the how it felt when daddy let you drive,
Momma reading books and laying on the carpet just listening,
Growing up with friends that are family,
Gails crossing, hot dogs, and chili from a can,
That God keeps his promises,
Late night sneaking into each other’s rooms to read and talk,
Remembering the moments that you felt sad, angry, happy, and excited about your new outfit all in a 30 minute time frame. Ending the day with swimming and ice ream for supper because learning to handle emotions and becoming a teenager is confusing and hard sometimes,
Looking at stars on the trampoline,
Working for money and learning to save it,
Wanting to be rocked and falling asleep listening to momma sing your favorite songs like she did when you were a baby because being 7 is hard sometimes,
McDonalds and park dates with daddy,
Looking for beauty amongst the weeds,
Music showcases and tons of family coming to support you,
Summer camp and realizing there are a ton of people rooting for you to have a life FULL of God’s love…
Shooting your shotgun and how hot that barrel gets in the heat of summer…
Chuck Wagon concerts and how many times Daddy told Momma how beautiful she looked that night…
Being silly with your cousin…
That time Michael Martin Murphy learned that YOU knew how to play one of his songs on your banjo…
And then he gave you HIS banjo and finger picks and said, “Alright, can you play it right now?” I hope you never forget the smile on Michael’s face when he realized that you were really serious…
I hope you never, ever forget how hard your daddy works for you and me. So when he accidentally falls asleep in his chair Momma doesn’t let you wake him up…
The summer that Ryan decided to put on his Savior in baptism. He became our brother in Christ that day and we are so very proud of his decision…
I hope you remember how you felt on this day and when life gets hard and God seems silent remember that He’s still Lord and loves you immensely.
I thank God every single day for the memories that we are making with these precious souls.
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