What were your summers like as a kid?
What were summers like for me as a kid? Well we are kids from the age of four and goes on until the age of lets say 13. Before you are four years of age till about 13. By the time you are thirteen your have other focuses. You don't get to be just a kid. Then again, being just a kid was not something that I remembered being often. However, I did look forward to summers, summers meant spending time with my grandparents. I lived for those days. I enjoyed spending times with my grandparents more than anything else. My mother side of grandparents literally walked on water in my opinion, they could do no wrong in my eyes, they loved me, no matter how bad of a kid I was, no matter how bad I missed up, no mater what my parents said they loved me, for me, and I loved them for them.
My grandmother was the mother I always wanted. My grandmother taught me so much, like how to look cute on a budget, how beauty is a pain but the end results it worth it. She taught me the amazing cooking skills that I learned over the course of my time with them, that time was cut a bit too short, but I am blessed with the time that I had with them. My grandmother taught me that you don't have to just worry about stranger danger but to also be aware for family danger – and she believed me. My grandmother believed that life is hard, and sometimes it downright sucks, and its okay to be effected by it. I was her little girl, I was her only granddaughter, and I was the center of her life for a long time.
My grandfather remains the only man in this world who has never hurt me, loved me less, judged me. If he was ever disappointed in me, he never once showed it. He was always there for me, he was always just one call away. He provided me a safe place to live when I had no where else to stay. He held my hand through medical procedures, he paid for everything that I ever needed or wanted and never once made me feel like I was putting a hard-ship on him. He worked hard – but he loved so much harder. He did everything he could do to bring a smile on my face. He took me on vacations with just us, he taught me how to drive and change a tire. He was the first one excited when I found out I was going to be a mama and he loved my little man almost as much as I did. He was my hero, he never hurt me, he never let me down, he loved me, always, even when I couldn't love myself, and more when I didn't believe I should have been loved.
My home life was a nightmare, my father was physically and sexually abusive, my mother was emotionally and physically abusive. My father had a drinking & drug problem, and my mother was so wrapped up in her gambling and spending addiction to be real parents. My escape was my grandparents, they were there, when DCF got involved. They took me in when I had no where else to go. They took me in, when they did not have the space or the time, the best times together were always in the summers. I knew no bad how the year was, once school was out for summer, that my days and nights at home praying that it would end would be on pause, at least for a few months.
Every summer from the age I was five years old, up until my grandparents moved out of the state at the age of 15 I spent with them. We would always go camping. The best place to go camping was always hammonasset, it was a big camp ground with so much things to do and fun activities. I learned how to cook over a fire, I learned how to tie dye a shirt, I overcame my fear of worms while learning how to fish. I discovered my love for riding a bike. I learned about the solar system and memorized the man on the moon song. When we were not camping, we would go to assessment parks, or tent in the back yard. I helped my grandmother build a gorgeous garden, I helped my grandfather build a shed that he would later spend his days sitting on the door stoop drinking a beer and smoking a cigar.
Summers were full of fun, and no stress, they were a time when I could just be a kid. I slept well in a safe bed, I did not have to walk on my tip toes. I did not have to wonder what would happen if I got something to eat without permission. I would not have to worry about running out of essentials. I did not have to fear going to sleep, I did not have to be scared of getting too excited about something and my voice getting too loud. I did not have to be afraid of hanging out with friends and embarrassing my parents. It was always a good time, it was time where I was able to breathe, and it was a time when I could just be a kid. I loved summers when I was with my grandparents. It was always a good time, it was always a time to just be a kid, and it is something that I never took for granted and it is something that I missed dearly when they moved out of state, and something that I remember when thinking about the good times of my childhood. All my good memories from my childhood involved my grandparents. I do not know what I would have done without them, there is one thing that I know for sure, if I did not have them in my life, I would not still be here to write about this.
This is what summers looked like for me as a kid – at least a glimpse of it.
My grandmother was the mother I always wanted. My grandmother taught me so much, like how to look cute on a budget, how beauty is a pain but the end results it worth it. She taught me the amazing cooking skills that I learned over the course of my time with them, that time was cut a bit too short, but I am blessed with the time that I had with them. My grandmother taught me that you don't have to just worry about stranger danger but to also be aware for family danger – and she believed me. My grandmother believed that life is hard, and sometimes it downright sucks, and its okay to be effected by it. I was her little girl, I was her only granddaughter, and I was the center of her life for a long time.
My grandfather remains the only man in this world who has never hurt me, loved me less, judged me. If he was ever disappointed in me, he never once showed it. He was always there for me, he was always just one call away. He provided me a safe place to live when I had no where else to stay. He held my hand through medical procedures, he paid for everything that I ever needed or wanted and never once made me feel like I was putting a hard-ship on him. He worked hard – but he loved so much harder. He did everything he could do to bring a smile on my face. He took me on vacations with just us, he taught me how to drive and change a tire. He was the first one excited when I found out I was going to be a mama and he loved my little man almost as much as I did. He was my hero, he never hurt me, he never let me down, he loved me, always, even when I couldn't love myself, and more when I didn't believe I should have been loved.
My home life was a nightmare, my father was physically and sexually abusive, my mother was emotionally and physically abusive. My father had a drinking & drug problem, and my mother was so wrapped up in her gambling and spending addiction to be real parents. My escape was my grandparents, they were there, when DCF got involved. They took me in when I had no where else to go. They took me in, when they did not have the space or the time, the best times together were always in the summers. I knew no bad how the year was, once school was out for summer, that my days and nights at home praying that it would end would be on pause, at least for a few months.
Every summer from the age I was five years old, up until my grandparents moved out of the state at the age of 15 I spent with them. We would always go camping. The best place to go camping was always hammonasset, it was a big camp ground with so much things to do and fun activities. I learned how to cook over a fire, I learned how to tie dye a shirt, I overcame my fear of worms while learning how to fish. I discovered my love for riding a bike. I learned about the solar system and memorized the man on the moon song. When we were not camping, we would go to assessment parks, or tent in the back yard. I helped my grandmother build a gorgeous garden, I helped my grandfather build a shed that he would later spend his days sitting on the door stoop drinking a beer and smoking a cigar.
Summers were full of fun, and no stress, they were a time when I could just be a kid. I slept well in a safe bed, I did not have to walk on my tip toes. I did not have to wonder what would happen if I got something to eat without permission. I would not have to worry about running out of essentials. I did not have to fear going to sleep, I did not have to be scared of getting too excited about something and my voice getting too loud. I did not have to be afraid of hanging out with friends and embarrassing my parents. It was always a good time, it was time where I was able to breathe, and it was a time when I could just be a kid. I loved summers when I was with my grandparents. It was always a good time, it was always a time to just be a kid, and it is something that I never took for granted and it is something that I missed dearly when they moved out of state, and something that I remember when thinking about the good times of my childhood. All my good memories from my childhood involved my grandparents. I do not know what I would have done without them, there is one thing that I know for sure, if I did not have them in my life, I would not still be here to write about this.
This is what summers looked like for me as a kid – at least a glimpse of it.
