by Georgie Bright Kunkel

Aren’t we fortunate that we live in such a temperate climate? Most of us complain when the temperature rises fairly high over a stretch of several days. Many of us don’t even

have air conditioning but do as I do—sit in front of a circulating fan when the thermometer registers uncomfortable levels of heat. We watch the news from the hotter areas of the country and thank our lucky stars that we are in temperate Seattle. The people who came from elsewhere to live in this temperate climate sometimes complain about the gloomy Seattle winter months. I, myself, have had to contend with the winter blues over the years but then I watch the news and am happy that I am not having to slog through snow.

    When the days warm up I am reminded of my childhood when I spent my summers walking to the local river park to swim most every day. It was almost a mile but in those days.

I didn’t worry about walking that far at all. I still remember the first time I managed to climb up to dive off the high diving board. That was quite an accomplishment.  I stood on the board for quite some time before conjuring up the courage to actually dive off the board. What a lot of experiences one has to go through in growing up. A lot of learning is necessary to become a functional adult, right? It was easier when the extended family was present and the older members of the clan were cheering on the younger generation.

   In my youth I organized lots of activities on my block. Everyone liked to come to my house because we had the biggest yard in the neighborhood. It didn’t take much to entertain ourselves. We collected big cardboard boxes and put them over our heads and ran about the yard bumping into each other. We played hide and seek and run sheep run and many other games until it got dark and we had to go inside.    

There was a creek near my home and my little friend and I would try and catch fish. Once when our street flooded my little friend and I built a raft which we navigated by using a long pole. I built a tree house in our big tree beside our house which I fitted out with cushions and books to read. I began to write stories when I was quite young and that was always one of my favorite occupations. Since I was never fearful of getting up in front of an audience I was often chosen to take part in school programs.

    When it was time for school to start a teacher would stand at the top of the steps ready to lead the children inside after they lined up on the sidewalk. As I look back on my early years I often wonder why young active children were required to sit in a seat all day in school. Before public schools were started, only the wealthier families provided formal education for their children. Parents taught their own children and if they wanted their children to learn a skill they did not have, they allowed their children to be taught by a  neighbor who had such skill. Our country is probably as successful as it is because of public education for all children. In the early days, some parents considered formal education not necessary.

They expected their children to work on the farm as they themselves did.

    Summer vacation exists because in the early days children were expected to work on the farm during the summer months. Even though most children live in towns and cities these days, the summer vacation is still maintained. There are many summer programs which provide learning activities for children. Going to summer camp is also an option.

I remember when my children were younger and they spent summers doing jobs for the neighbors—mowing lawns and such. I never remember  my children moping about and wondering what they could do in the summer months.

    Now it is time to get to bed with the circulating fan turned on. Hopefully this heat wave will not last too long.