When the livin's EZ

Today it was almost 70 degrees, in March! In CA that wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary but for this time of year in OH it's just crazy! I took the kids out just to play in the front yard for a while and as I sat there sipping my ice water something sparked a memory. A memory from my childhood and it was actually a good one!

I come from a dysfunctional family, divorce, mental illness, blah, blah. But there was one season of my childhood that was redeemable and that was Summer. Every Summer my brother, sisters and I would load into the back of my parents Dodge Caravan and make the 9 hour trip to Woodland, CA. My Mother's home town. She was the only one of her 5 siblings to leave Northern CA and come down to Southern CA. So we had lots of family to see there, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, and of course Grandpa Fred and Grandma Ruby.

I still remember listening to my Janet Jackson cassette tape on the way there and only taking my head phones off when one of my younger siblings needed something, which was about every 10 minutes. (I am the oldest). Once we got into town our first stop was always my Grandpa's grocery store. Gordon's Kentucky Market. My parents would let us pick out a treat there, my personal favorite was a watermelon tube of gum. The kind you could just squeeze out of the tube into your mouth. It was kinda grainy and not super chewy but I loved it. And we'd run to the back of the store past the deli to Grandpa's office to see him. He's have us jump up on his lap and give us lots of hugs and kisses. He used to call me "the mostest beeeaautiful girl in the world." We'd visit with him for a while and then head to Grandma's house. There was a familiar smell to woodland. Like a warm vanilla mixed with burning leaves. It's hard to explain but I loved it. Grandma always had our rooms ready. My siblings and I would share a room and Mom and Dad in the other. We'd have our showers, then sit with grams and gramps and have rocky road ice cream in our pajamas while the adults watched cheers and then it was up to bed. Grandma always opened our window at night. She said it was good to breathe the fresh air, and that it helped you sleep better. And she always said, "Get some rest because we're going to have a BIG day tomorrow." It was always so easy to go to sleep there. I felt so snug in that big cozy bed with the crickets chirping softly outside and the voices of the adults visiting downstairs.

Every morning Grandpa would get up before 6 to go and open the store. We could hear his footsteps creak on the old floor but most of the time we'd just roll over and go back to sleep. Grandma would make belgian waffles and eggs and bacon and we'd all sit together and eat. They had a great big pool in the backyard and while eating breakfast we could hear the pool cleaner going through the open window. Some days we'd go to the mall, visit my cousins at their turkey farm and drive their four wheelers but most days went like this: Wake, eat breakfast, call cousins to come swim. Swim, have lunch out by the pool. Swim some more, have dinner out by the pool. Oh and Grandma always had a veggie and fruit tray out all day long for us to snack on. My hair turned so green every single Summer just because I spent almost every day ALL day swimming in that pool.

On each side of the backyard pool there were gates. Our girl cousins that were close in age to us and my sister and I made forts behind those gates. Me and one cousin, and her and one cousin. Of course we were mortal enemies and were always trying to spy on what the other ones were doing.

Grandma didn't always let us just lounge around, she taught us how to do chores, and to do them well. She had us cleaning the windows and the bathrooms every week. We had fun doing our chores and when we didn't do them well enough, she let us know and we redid them. The garage was a super fun place as well as the house and backyard. Because out there was the extra fridge where Grandma stocked every popsicle and ice cream concotion known to man. She got it all from Grandpa's store and so we never went without. And if there was something that she ran out of she would just call Gramps and he's bring it by after work. We were so spoiled.

Every August I think it was Woodland held the Yolo County Fair. We had a blast going with our cousins and daring each other to go on rides, ect. Of course the food was always something to look forward to as well, the corn dogs, cotton candy, fried corn. Our Uncle would get drunk a lot and give us lots of money to buy tickets and food with. It was the bomb. 

And when the cousins weren't around or I just felt like lounging I would sit with Grandma in the air conditioned house and watch her soap with her which was "All My Children". She would always watch it while having a diet coke with ice and goldfish. So I copied her of course. I also became good at making grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes thanks to all of her handy kitchen tools. My Grandma and I were very close. She and I would talk about everything. I remember one morning she asked me what I wanted to do that day and I told her that I wanted to go to weinerschnitzel. Well she took my right then, at 8:00 in the morning. And since they weren't open yet we just sat in the parking lot and talked until 9:00. It was awesome.

Another favorite thing we did was rent movies. We rented a lot of movies and watched them at our cousins or Grandma's house and had sleepovers. We always watched scary one's at my cousins like those Nightmare on Elm Streets but we would make fun of them by turning off the sound and ad libbing words so they weren't too scary. We also watched dirty dancing like 372 times. I think that was my cousins favorite.

I wish my kids had a place like this to go every Summer. I'll always be grateful for those memories. Every time we had to leave, even when I got older, I cried. I felt so safe and happy there surrounded by family and free of worries or cares. I felt taken care of, instead of always being the one who had to worry about taking care of others. I felt accepted and loved and heck, I just had so much fun. I'm glad I took a minute to write all this down. Those were great memories and wonderful times.