On a nice Sunday we would pack a lunch and go for a drive in the country. Sometimes we would stop and have ice cream.

Before all hell broke out in my parents marriage we would be on bike rides (my brother and I on childs seats attached to the handlebars). Don't remember much fun memorable times there after.

Prolly should scroll on by to such posts as these...

Moni

We lived within walking distance to my grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins. There were 19 cousins. I have four female cousins that were born the same year I was, we grew up inseparable and still very close today. Everyone always congregated at my grandparent's throughout the week and every Sunday there was a big Italian family dinner. Tucked into all those happy memories were my most favorite times spent alone with my grandmother. She was the most influential person in my life.

Summers, spent swinging on a big rope hanging from a tree branch, over a creek and dropping into the water....

Sunday the family, in our best clothes, would go to church. Afterward, we would go for brunch at a restaurant.

matti5, She was the most influential person in my life.

Nonna and Nonno - tears well up in my eyes thinking of all they meant to my childhood. All my good memories are filled with their love.

My grandmother lived with us until I was about 6 and then she moved back to England. I was a lot younger than my siblings and spent a lot of time with Gaga before I started school. I remember spending time with her in her room, her in a rocker and me sitting on a small stool while she told me stories and we snacked on HiHo crackers with her canary singing in the background. And having real afternoon tea, not a make-believe tea party! I also remember going with her to various "ladies functions" and having lunch and also going downtown and visiting the local Woolworth's (this was early 50's) and getting little nosegays of fragrant violets.

Oddly, neither my older brother or sister have very fond memories of her. To this day, my sister remembers her as a bit of a dragon! She sure was good to me, however :-))

My mother picked me up at school for a simple appt and afterwards she said "let's go to a movie, just us!" I was probably 9 or 10 and I thought that was so neat. We had fun and it was an entertaining movie, "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin", I think.

My mom worked in the Farm Bureau office full time and my dad was a high school math teacher and coach. I was lucky enough to have two weeks with my great-grandmother every summer, just as soon as school let out because my dad always taught an algebra summer school class. She made me oatmeal with raisins every morning for breakfast, then I got to gather the eggs. She had a big hammock that I would lay in and read most of the day. We always ate lunch at 12:30, in the dining room, so we could see and hear the tv in the living room.... Couldn't miss As the World Turns!!

Then the end of July, parents, little brother and I, went to Fort Meyers FL every year and spent a week at the beach. When we got back, and my uncle and cousins from Chicago would come down and get me to go back north to spend 3 weeks with them until school started, since my dad would be at football practice all day. I adored summers. Never bored for a second. Then all of a sudden I was old enough to babysit my little brother while parents were at work.......LOL! I still hold it against him!

I'm blessed with so many happy memories. One that's been on my mind lately is a beautiful sunny Spring day my parents and I spent walking along a little creek in a wooded area near our house. Mom and Dad were talking soft and happy (not arguing, which they did from time to time). They walked slow enough that I could jump from rock to rock in the creek, look for tadpoles, examine fuzzy leaf buds just starting to open, smell the purple violets and the clean fresh air, listen to the brook as it splashed over little waterfalls. I was eleven or twelve years old, already a nature nut (and introvert), it was heaven to have that time to myself, parents close by, no one else to distract or bother me. The reason this day has been on my mind is that my elderly Dad is mixing up his memories, and keeps "remembering" you could look out our door and not see another house for miles. Well, no. But I like how he values nature and the outdoor walks we took together.

I appreciate everyone else's fond memories. mine were kind of sparse just as were others' I've noticed. Two good things stand out. floating on a lake or on the ocean on my back looking up at the sky. Next is Tea with a lovely neighbour lady we called Aunt Annie. Complete with cookies. Often she would just invite me. my life was quite tense and unhappy at home so her Oasis of cookies and tea was a wonderful reprieve. :-). She tried to teach me to sew butt well I didn't have any confidence or Talent at that point in my life.

When we visited my grandparents in Arkansas, after church on Sunday we walked back to Granny's and had lunch. All the cousins, Aunts & Uncles, grandparents, great grands would be there. Everyone brought something to eat. There were so many people in that little bitty house, we ate in the kitchen in 2 groups. The men & kids ate first, then off the kids would scamper and then the women and little kids would eat.

When it was nice outside we all ate outside in the yard.

Oh I miss those times.

Ah, the Jersey shore. My parents would rent a cottage right by the beach on Lavallette for ONE MONTH. My parents were graphic artists and my father would stay at our apartment in the Bronx (going to work) during the week and come down during the weekends. The house in front of us, on the same lot, was always rented by the same family and those kids [Jessie, Chris and Eleanor (or was it Elizabeth?)] and my brother and I would hang out together.

There was a mimosa tree outside the room my brother and I shared-it was always in bloom during our stay and the smell of mimosa always takes me back to those summers. The beds were so high, I used to roll out of the bed in my sleep and land on the floor (still sleeping!) so frequently that my mother took to putting the dining room chairs in a line next to my bed to "catch" me!

We would walk down the beach to Seaside Heights at night to go ride the rides...Oh my, what a memory.

We spent many summers there, I loved it. I wish I could do something similar for my son but at least he gets to spend a week with my mother, his Baba, in NYC in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. He thinks it's magical and that's exactly what I hoped for.

My grandmother would rent a cottage at Russian River (Rio Nido) each year as soon as Spring weather hit. I would stay with her for the whole season. When school let out my mother and older brother would join us. Dad would drive up on weekends.

Entire summer was spent with early morning walks. I was a picky eater and I always wanted to have a cream cheese and jam sandwich. Grandmother would make me a whole one and cut it into halves hoping I would eat a bit more. I would eat half and the other was fed to the feral kittens under the bridge. Afternoons were spent on "the beach". I remember toddling around with a coffee tin picking up crawdads. Learned to swim in that river and was dog paddling half way across by the age of two. Everyday spent by the water. Lunch was packed and coke bottles were buried at the water line to keep cold. The butcher would give my brother and I raw chicken feet to play with. Lots of fun chasing each other having chicken foot "fight's. No one worried about such things like salmonella and we stayed healthy. In the evening we would take a walk through the woods. On occasional evenings we would go to Gurneville to the carnival. Grandma would have her fortune told by the gypsies and we kids would bet on black or red squares at the roulette game. It was sort of roulette but a rat would pick the number and color. There are also memories of a goat that would eat cigarettes. Probably belonged to the gypsies. Different time/ different life.

When I was four, I spent the summer with my grandparents. We lived in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC, and they were in Green Bay, WI. Their house was on the Fox River. When a boat was going by, they would shout to let me know. I would run to the window and climb on a chair to watch the motor boat go by. Funny how the littlest things make the most memorable moments.

Growing up, I did not have a happy childhood living with a mean, drunk stepfather. During the summer I found peace going to the 'bush” as we called it, with a basket and picking wild blueberries for a good part of the day. If I was lucky, he would be napping before his shift, when I got home.
Something I really enjoyed, was in September, when the family would drive to the woods to collect wild mushrooms. We would end up with bushels that mom would can. I loved being in the deep woods......don't know how I never got lost...or how we never got poisoned. Those were the best mushrooms and I love mushrooms still, and being in the woods. So, in spite of everything, I do have some fond memories.

Summer was a busy time for my family. Dad was in the field all day and mother. my sister and I, among other things, tended a large vegetable garden, picked wild berries, and canned food for the winter. Occasionally, when could find a 2 to 3 hour period of free time in the afternoon, we'd go fishing in the local river and take a swim before coming home. Any fish we caught would be our evening meal. I still recall a particular sound from those times. While at the river, at about 4 pm, the barred owls would begin to stir in the woods. They would let out a few calls of who-who-wh-whoooo. That was our signal that it was time to go home and do the evening chores.

Family reunions were popular. During the summer, two to three reunions took place in our locality. These extended beyond the immediate family to friends and neighbors of the family. We attended several of these each summer.

Sunday was the day to attend church in the morning, maybe go to someone's home for lunch, and spend the reminder of the day in leisure of resting and playing.

When I was 11 years old, I got my first horse for my birthday. His name was Prince. I rode him every day. If the weather was too bad to ride, I would sit on his back in the barn. Sometimes when it was going to rain, I would put him in the barn, so he would be dry, and when the rain stopped, I would ride him bareback. I loved to ride him through the woods. The little town we lived in was starting to grow and areas of the woods had new roads cut through them, and I loved to ride through there before the roads were paved. All my happiest childhood memories revolved around that horse. He broke his leg and had to be put down just two days before I got married. It truly was the end of my childhood....in more ways than one.

Functionthenlook, said it all! I could copy that post word for word. Born 14 years earlier, but my growing up years the same. Standing out for me was summers roaming the woods, swinging on 'monkey swings', picking berries to sell. After dark, groups of us got together to play 'run sheep run' all through our small town. There was ice skating on the mule pond at the mine in winter and sled riding down the hilly streets in town. The guy whose job it was to ash the icy hills always left at least one unashed for us kids to sled on. There was no reason to be afraid to go out and be a kid, with everyone looking after each other, from the youngest to the oldest. So sad that this is a time lost to kids today.

Growing up we really did not take vacations. We were farmers and had animals to care for. I got my first pony when I was 9 and I would ride her almost everyday. When I was 14 I got my first horse and rode him. My folks kept my first pony all of her life and she lived a very long time. Riding them were the best times for me.

Sue

Igmd...gaz. Boy are you bringing back the memories. Pickup baseball games. All ages played (didn't matter how little you were) and we shared each other's gloves and bats. No adults telling us how to play. Rairly even keeping score. Just kids having fun. Building forts out of scrap lumber. Everyone's yard was free game. None of this mine, mine, mine. If we were hungry, no problem grab an apple, cherries or pear off someone's tree or a tomato out of their garden. Riding bikes or playing hop scotch without worrying about traffic until it was time for the fathers to come home from work. If you did something wrong, everyones mother had the right to yell at you. Thanks for the memories.

We lived out in the country and my siblings and I played together because there weren't any neighbor kids our age close by. We had a stream that ran by the edge of the property. We used to catch crawdads there. It was usually catch and release unless we used them to go fishing. We were within walking distance of a good place to fish, but my dad would not allow us to go without him or another adult. We always had a garden and a few trees with hickory nuts, mulberries, pears, peaches, etc. We could find blackberries in season. There were a bunch of you pick it places or farms that sold fresh produce so we would go buy food and can or freeze it. We had a lot of older/elderly neighbors who didn't have grandkids close by. Our grandparents lived out of state so we were often played with and spoiled by the neighbors. We loved to go visit them. One neighbor friend introduced me to crafting. It' something I've enjoyed ever since.

There are no more 'weirdos' today than ever, but I think neighborhoods as I knew them are pretty rare. Nobody is'at home' with an eye out for 'everybody's kids', much less do they know the children or their parents. Kids are indoors, not out where they would meet friends and neighbors.

DH and I are mid-70's. We each had free run of our (separate) suburban neighborhoods. It gave us a wonderfully expanded life beyond whatever was going on at home. We are both 'only children' as well.

We walked or biked to school, came home for an HOUR for lunch, went back to school, came home after school. In truly bad weather, someone's mother would drive. I had morning and afternoon recess in grammar school. All this exercise was a blessing to our teachers and calming for us -- especially the 'relief valve' of an hour at home at noon.

Neither of us had perfect childhoods, but our expanded world of playmates and neighbors was wonderful. My best first friend lived across the street. The girl next door walked me to school when I started kindergarten. Nobody's doors were locked. All the kids were welcome to come and go -- and 'go' -- in one another's homes.

We never thought about how lucky we were, but we were! Good memories.

I still remember special time with my parents when they were giving us 4 kids their full attention. My dad had been in the navy in WWI, and he loved to play the popular navy card game Cribbage. We would play at the kitchen table after dinner and had a good time. We did not realize that the game was developing our skills with numbers. Our mom retired from teaching when she married Dad. She liked to sit with us over a game of Anagrams on the living room floor or at the card table where we assembled a 1000 piece puzzle. On vacations at a lake in Wisconsin, Hearts and Canasta were the popular games one summer.

I have a lot of great memories actually. Most involve our neighborhood and famiy. I was the oldest, and in the summers I got to go to the country and visit my aunts (3) and cousins for a week or two. I guess my mother needed a break, having 2 younger boys at home. And my cousins and I all had fun together. I would usually get to do things like help gather eggs, milk cows, feed the chickens, and whatever else I could beg them to do. I probably got in the way, but they were so patient and it was fun just being there.

My parents took us to the beach almost every summer. My Dad loved seafood and we would almost go out to eat 2-3 times at one of their favorites places. We could order whatever we wanted and for me it was almost always fried shrimp or oysters.

Playing with my neighborhood friends was great. We were kind of spread out, but we wore a path through this one strip of woods getting to each other. Playing might involve just lying around reading comic books. We never worried about anything except one neighbor’s Dobermans. Fun times.

I would spend overnights at my Grandma's cottage which was especially nice when it rained as you'd hear the rain patter on the roof. She had a screened in porch in the back and a "sofa" that was hanging off of chains so it would swing. I would sit and do crafts there for hours in peace and quiet. The best part of staying there was their very routined and ordinary life. No surprises, no upsets, no drama, just simple living in a house filled with love. It was good.

Thank you for giving me the reason to remember those happy summer days.

I have many happy memories, and many sad ones too. My parents were divorced, and it was not amicable between them. I was often stuck in the middle because I loved them both.

I have wonderful memories of spending time with my maternal grandmother, watching her make strudel for holidays.

Another of my good memories was when my mother took me to Disneyland, just the two of us. I know that was difficult for her, as she wasn't much of a traveler. That made it more special for me.

Playing football this time of year in the large front yards on our rural road. I think people today would chase kids out of their yards, but back then it never happened.

I'm the oldest of 4 I had two brothers and have a sister. I remember on Xmas eve after mom was in bed, actually very early like 3 or 4 in the morning all 4 of us would end up laying on the floor in front of the tree with its different colored twinkling lights looking at the gifts. We would try to guess who's was who's and what it could be. We never touched any of the gifts just looked and dreamed. Than we would all tip toe back to bed. Not a Christmas goes by that I don't think of this. Both of my brothers have passed away and I haven't seen my sister for over 8 years.

Another happy memory was when I got to spend all day on Saturdays at my two favorate Aunts laundramat. I loved all the friendly people that came to wash their clothes and gossip. And I loved that so many would allow me to help fold the fluffy soft towels so warm and fresh smelling. Maybe these happy times in the laundramat is why I love laundry.

My favorite memory of childhood was summertime afternoons spent laying in the shade of two giant red oaks watching the clouds and the horses in the pasture across the road. So relaxing and quiet.

One of my earliest memories is of staying with my (honorary) aunt and uncle at their rented summer cottage in Little Compton, RI. My grandmother and I shared a room under the eaves. I was about three. This was -- probably still is -- a tiny, rural 'four corners', tucked away across the water from splendid Newport. We picnicked at the beach. I played with their Sealyham pup. My uncle commuted from Providence on weekends.

A neighbor kept dairy cattle. I would go to sleep in the summer twilight, hearing the bell on the lead cow as they came, lowing, back to the barn. Early mornings I'd wake to sunlight -- sometimes fog -- and the same bell as the cowherd brought the cows out to pasture.

This was a happy respite for all of us, with my childless and doting aunt and uncle. My mother had packed my father off to his club in Chicago and packed her bags for her native Providence. My father was continuing an affair with his secretary that began when my mother was pregnant with me, but all I knew then was that the two people I loved most in the world were fighting, and Daddy didn't come home anymore. It was also wartime.