---

For some reason, summer always makes me think of childhood. For me summer's meant no school, family vacations, and plenty of reading. Until I was about 14; then summer's meant working for my parents a few days a week, going to the beach once in awhile, and still plenty of reading. After high school, summer's meant working all summer so that I had a little more to live on during the school year, a break from homework and tests, and the occasional two-day vacation. Now, summer means higher electric bills from running the air conditioning, working just like every other month of the year, and a few days in northern Wisconsin if I get lucky.
I didn't realize it when I was younger, but summer as a child is as good as it gets. At 14, I still had good summers because I got to go to the beach in the middle of the week once in awhile. But do you think I saw that? No, I only knew that I worked a few days and got to go to the beach some of other days. But my friends had every day free, so of course I thought it was unfair.
Thinking back on my childhood summer vacations they weren't anything amazing, but they are something I will hang on to forever. The freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want, all day long would be great as an adult.
Once I started thinking about summertime as a child I realized there were a lot of childhood routines and memories that I will always hang on to and be envious of my childhood self for. Camping is at the top of the list. My childhood camping trips meant riding bikes, canoeing, feeding chipmunks, and having the time of my life with family and friends for almost 10 days at a time and nine hours from home. On a smaller scale, I loved making forts with chairs and blankets and waking up early on Saturday mornings so I could intercept my grandpa's phone call before my parents woke up.
Looking back, it's easy to see that I didn't know how good I had it. But now, I know how good it was and can hang on to that time through the memories and stories.