The Nostalgia of Summer
Summer’s winding down. Kids are heading back to school. Family trips and activities are wrapping up. The weather’s cooling down…(okay, maybe not quite that one yet.)
Think back to when you were a kid, and what that all felt like for you. The excitement around school letting out and mapping out your entire summer break. Then the disbelief when the break goes far too quickly and you’re shopping for back to school clothes and testing out new backpacks before you know it.
Whether you have your own school-aged kids or not, I guarantee you still feel that energy shifting in the air this time of year. You possibly even feel nostalgic about your own childhood. Summer was such a defining period of time in each of our lives; a time for making lasting memories - whether with friends, family, or even reading on our own in our rooms (*cough*: me.) It’s also a great way to pinpoint the passage of time in your memory bank. Maybe you remember clear as day the summer you broke your arm roller skating down the “big hill,” and then had to go back to 5th grade wearing a cast. So, you must have been 10 or 11 in that memory. It’s always wild to me how hard it is to place our past memories on any sort of a timeline. Thinking back to summer breaks can help us do that.
So, for your journaling this week, let’s get nostalgic, shall we? Reflect back on what you remember about your summers growing up. Work to pinpoint activities or moments that really stand out for you. Maybe you can even single out how old you were based on which grades you were roughly between. Remember the good and the bad. The cool and the awkward. The days that went far too quickly, and the ones that seemed to last forever (if you’re now humming ‘Summer of 69,’ you’re welcome.)
What was your favorite summer activity or trip? Try to summon more than just the activities themselves; what foods would you eat? What smells were in the air? For me, I remember clear as day the summer around 6th grade. Meeting my friend at her house, then riding our bikes every day down (down a very busy rode, I might add - #90schild) to the public pool and spending the whole day there. The smell of sunscreen and sounds of kids screaming while being whistled at to stop running. We’d scrounge up our coins to split a giant Laffy Taffy from the vending machine. The torture that was having to get out of the pool for the 20-minute adult-only swim. The embarrassment when another friend showed up wearing my same swimsuit.
Notice your current self in your nostalgic journaling. Do you feel lighter when you think back on your summers as a kid? Younger? Or maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe something dark happened for you then. There’s no need to attach anything to those feelings; it’s just interesting to note. Summer breaks are such a big part of our tapestry and can help us feel a softness and a fondness for our younger selves. As you reflect on these periods from your childhood, really love on the little you. Smile at your awkward moments (first kiss, anyone?), and applaud your ingenuity (pulling wagons behind your bike, anyone?) You were (and still are) awesome.
Happy journaling!