Can we really quickly just talk about how much better summer was when we were kids? Those were the good ‘ole days when summer just meant no worries, just fun.

When I was little I actually believed half of the year was school and the other half was summer break. I did actually understand the concept of the four seasons in a year, but maybe not fully because I just thought summer was longer than the other three. It definitely turned my world upside down when I realized summer break didn’t work that way. But I guess that is just how magical summer was for a kid. Summer was the best time of the whole year.

Summer was simple back then. There was no stress and no responsibilities. We didn’t have to work and then directly use that money to pay for for school. The closest thing to any type of work would be when we would set up a lemonade stand and have a few dollars to spend at the snack bar at the pool. As a kid during the summer, there was no “beach bod” or “bikini body” we had to work for or stress over. Otter pops and ice cream everyday didn’t make us fat and if it did, we didn’t care. There wasn’t any worry about what we looked like in a swimsuit so we had no big pre summer diets or working out. We were far more concerned with who could do the coolest tricks off the diving board or build the sweetest village in the sandbox. As we get older we work very hard before or during the summer to get nice and golden-brown, but as a kid I never worried about it and I easily tanned as I spent every waking moment in the sun.

Relationships in those summers were more carefree than they ever will be again. As we walked into the pool we would just naturally become best friends with all the kids there. I remember going camping and five minutes after showing up to the site, my siblings and I were already off running around with other kids staying there. We weren’t worried about drama or meeting the love of our lives, just trying to find some kids who wanted to hang out and do anything fun.

Summer as a kid meant doing whatever the heck you wanted. I remember having week long sleepovers with my friends and staying up late every night. I went to summer camps, and played on summer sports teams. We got together with all the neighborhood friends and played capture the flag and had ongoing water ballon battles. We built tree houses in our backyard and made up secret passwords to get in. We spent hours jumping on the trampoline or drawing chalk murals on the sidewalk. Summer was full of activities and felt like it lasted forever.

Even as those summers winded down, our parents would take us school shopping. We would go get the required list of school supplies and then get to fill our baskets full of colorful trapper keepers, folders, and new pencils. Our parents would let us get a couple new outfits that we couldn’t wait to show off to our friends on the first week of school. And you always knew that the school year would go by and you could pick up celebrating summer were you left off.

Beginning to end, summers as a kid were hands down the best. While I was a kid I couldn’t wait to grow up and I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, cause I would give anything to go back to being a kid in the summertime.