Long hot summer days.....

As a kid it was always exciting when school was out. Long lazy days spent on the beach listening to a small transistor radio and reading comic books, seventeen magazine along with 'Teen, 16, and tigerbeat magazines. Living in an area where people flocked to during the summer months meant that there was always change-over-day every Saturday or every other Saturday where new families would vacation. Some kids became friends for life, others came and went. Though the decades have passed, they are a bit different for my own daughter. While we live in a state with a lot of tourists, our tourism season is in the winter. Mainly her friends are from school or in the coming weeks, friends she has made over the years of attending summer camp. This week she has had a friend visiting from South Carolina. They have been friends since pre-K and although her friend has moved out of state, they keep in touch via the cell phone and computer! No longer the snail mail hand written letters on pretty stationary with waxed embossed stamps on the back of the envelope! There was always excitement to come home and have mail; I'd run up to my room and sit on my bed and read the events from my pen pals! While I had the beach to escape to, my daughter has the pool, and the pool seems to be more inviting after dark than during the day. Shopping, movies, food, talking and giggling are not out of style. They sleep late and stay up late. I think I had more freedom, because at night I'd walk to the beach and have my toes in the water and walk along and enjoy the bonfires along the beach, joining friends in roasting marshmallows over the open fire. Now there is much red tape in order to get a permit to have a bonfire...takes all the spontaneity and fun out of it! So this week it was going to see Toy Story 3, selecting a 4g iPhone and enjoying the company of a friend.