A Summer of Summers

Day 3

So my friends, Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. Summer is here. It means so many different things. The smells, the sounds, the heat......it brings back memories of summers past. Good and bad and for all different reasons. Each one of us has our own. I guess every season can do this, bring back a sense of what is familiar. The summer, however is distinct. It meant freedom as a kid. Vacation, swimming, beach, shorts, no shoes, late nights, road trips, ice pops, BBQ, picnics, fire works, lazy days, quiet moments in the yard, no schedule, my birthday:-).....the list goes on...

As a teacher I still enjoyed the excitement of school ending and responsibility fleeing. This time of year is, for lack of a more exciting word, just simply....fun! As the end of the school year quickly approaches I always go back to one specific memory. It was while I was teaching second grade in Brooklyn and living in Manhattan. I worked with another woman who also lived in the city. We started at this school the same time and we quickly became friends, really good friends. I was not an easy year in our school. We were challenged in many ways. I had 35 second graders by myself, no assistant or any assistance really in anyway. My new colleague and our friendship was a gift I did not take for granted. Together we found humor in the chaos. We laughed a lot and often....hard. We started commuting together and quickly started spending most of our time together. It was a simple time in my life, if only I had known that at the time! I was single, living in a beautiful apartment, doing what I loved. I was young. I had my pre-baby body, perky boobs and all. (This, the boobs, have absolutely nothing to do with the summer or teaching or the friendship....I just really miss them!!!)

That Memorial Day on our subway ride back to the city from work, my friend asked me to join her at her family's summer home at their lake house in Connecticut. They were opening the house for the summer. I was uptight about being in the way and feeling out of place with her whole family but she insisted I come. I thought, what the hell!, and went. I literally ran up to my apartment and put my flip flops on and threw some clothes in a bag and we were off. As soon as we stepped out of the car at the lake, we left the rest of the world behind us. I spent the weekend gardening, picking weeds, having a blast and feeling part of a wonderful new family.

That year on the last day of school my friend and I met at a restaurant for appetizers and a drink. We sat outside on a NYC street eating calamari and drinking Coronas. It was soooo summer. We promised each other we would do that every year on the last day of school. We would always kick off our summer this way.

I ended up spending most of my summer at the lake that year. The days were long. We always managed a daily nap. We always had time to read. Cocktails started around 5, maybe 4:-). We drank a lot of wine (Kendall Jackson Chardonnay). We talked about everything......many times. We laughed a lot and often... hard. We danced. We played. It was a perfect summer. One I will never forget.


When that summer ended I met Andy. Life shifted. I was soon engaged, married and a mother.

My friend and I never did kick off the summer with calamari and coronas again. I never spent time at the lake again. In fact, this friend and our friendship.........it was never like that summer again.

I miss it. This time of the year, I miss my friend.

BUT my memories are too good for it to bring me down. It's SUMMER!!!!!! Time to let go. Time to be outside. Time to just relax and enjoy.

So, my dear dear lost lake friend, this weekend I will have a glass of wine, Kendall Jackson chardonnay,  for you. I will toast our friendship, our summer of summers. Here's to this summer. A summer to make new memories. With love.........