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Summertime In The
Neighborhood
By
Mary Beth Barry |
 Weymouth
- Summertime brings back memories of my childhood and
the fun that we had once school let out. Now I was one of
the kids who liked school so it was always a mixed blessing
when June arrived and school was finished. I lived in a
close knit neighborhood in North Cambridge where the houses
were close together on small streets and you did not need to
travel far to find someone to play with at any time of the
day.
We were active children who were constantly in motion
participating in some form of fun and exercise everyday. For
hours on end we would play dodge ball, hide and go seek,
waffle ball and “outs” against the steps. Our imaginations
lead us from activity to activity for 12 hours a day and I
never remember feeling bored. I can still remember the
feeling of roller skating on the streets or riding my bike
and feeling the freedom that summertime brings. Well, we
thought we had some freedom but the “mother patrol” was
always out in full force. In our neighborhood we were all
like one big family and each mother looked out for each
child. They set up an invisible net around the perimeter of
the homes and little did we know how little freedom we
really enjoyed.
After dinner we would all spill out of our houses to begin
the next round of games. That is until the ice cream truck
arrived. I actually believe that ice cream is an important
food group that is essential to my well being. Each night we
all enjoyed the cool refreshing cones and then resumed our
fun. Summer was a simple and easy time as a child. There was
no planning or packing and the vacation came every year at
the same time without fail. How nice was that! The only real
pressure was being in the house when the street lights went
on.
On the dreaded rainy days we went bowling or to the library.
The poor librarian must have prayed for sunshine as we
traveled in packs and at least 10 of us would enter the
quiet of the library at a time and leave with armfuls of
books.
As we approach the half way point of this year and summer is
here again, I hope that we can each find some time to enjoy
the days and evenings of each day. Let your imagination have
some fun and enjoy the simplicity that summer can bring. We
all deserve the rest and ability to re-energize our body and
spirit. Remember that ice cream is an essential part of
summer (actually every season) and enjoy a nice refreshing
cone or sundae to celebrate the child in each of us. |
About The Author
Mary Beth Barry, RN, MSM, CHPN is Director at Hospice
of the South Shore. You may reach her at (781) 794-7875 or
learn more at www.sshosp.org.
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