Summertime Nostalgia

Each summer I tend to get a little nostalgic, longing for the summers of my youth by the Great Lakes; the feel of warm sand beneath my feet, the sun soaking through my skin and warming my bones. The taste of sweet cherries and the sound the pits would make as they whizzed out the window of our brown Chevrolet Malibu station wagon. No seat belts in the back seat of the car so when the perforated Naugahyde got too hot you could move freely to release your thighs from the seat leaving little bumps where your skin sunk into the vinyl pattern as you relaxed. It seemed to take forever to get to our idyllic spot by the lake each summer and the question every kid asks "are we there yet" came up I am sure way too often for my parents. I have many wonderful memories of summer as a child in Michigan and when the family house was sold last year I thought that might be the last of them.

This summer my parents decided to rent a house on Lake Huron (a block away) for a couple weeks and I was bummed that I wasn't going to be able to join them. Every time I see the Pure Michigan commercials I get misty thinking about Michigan in the summertime and how much I really do miss it. I just want to be warm in the summer, that's all, it is not warm here people. I want to take a time out, be carefree again, read a book outside and walk along the water and collect sea glass (lake glass?) even if just for a few days. Call it haste, call it spontaneous craziness or what you will - I won't be offended but...

I bit the bullet, bought myself a ticket and am headed to Michigan (home sweet home) to hang out and relax on the Lake in a few weeks. I am trying not to have any expectations, but do have a little list of things I must do while I am there. This is not a stretch to relive the days of my youth, let's just call it a time out from adulthood for a few days, that's all. I am excited! UPDATE - Tim is now coming too! Very exciting...getting ready for Pure Michigan.