When I was in elementary school, I had a friend that I saw and played with all summer long. We were not in the same grade and never did things together during the school year because of that. But the summer was our time together. And I mean that we were together all the time. Summer was full of activities from morning until supper time, which we sometimes shared together too.
She was a year behind me in school, but I knew she was smarter than I was. That was fine with me. I was not jealous. I was amazed by her imagination and the way she planned out our daily activities. She was so much fun!
Everyday, at about 8 or 9 o’clock, I would go over to her house. She lived exactly 2 blocks from my house. The reason I went there was because all the things we played with were at her house. She had 2 sisters. One was 6 years older and the other one was 12 years older. So there was a collected assortment of board games and other things that kept us busy. We played games first on most days.
We rode our bikes and took swimming lessons together. We went to the nearby park in the afternoon, playing volleyball and other activities with the park directors. On rainy days, we played in her basement. There were the makings of many different activities including playing house in which there were several sets of kitchen items. We threw darts for them, taking turns for choosing each one. She was much better than me, so she usually got first choice. But I didn’t mind. It still was fun .
We also lip-synced to records that had been handed down from her sisters. And we even performed in talent shows for each other. She had shelves of Nancy Drew books and suggested different ones for me to borrow, just as a librarian would do. And she made game shows on the sidewalk with chalk. There were prizes too, which we used again and again.
We walked to Bonnie Doon’s (a favorite destination) for sundaes almost everyday. We even went at night when we were older. It was safe to walk in the dark in those days. They had the best ice cream around! On Sundays she would come with me and my family to Lake Michigan. We went every weekend if it didn’t rain. Once a year, I went with her and her parents to a park with spectacular slides. They brought a picnic lunch and we would bring waxed paper and slide all day until dark.
We literally spent the entire summer together. But we rarely saw each other during the school year. I’m not sure why. But I think we just had different things to do. It didn’t affect our relationship one bit. Every summer, we picked up where we left off.
She became a lawyer, and moved to a different state. So then we only saw each other when she came home to visit her folks. They are now deceased and we see each other when she comes into town for school reunions. The great thing is that we love and care about each other just as before. Those summers forged a bond between us and a special friendship. I have never known anyone quite like her. She will always be remembered as my wonderful, amazing summer friend.