“All
the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”― J.M.
Barrie, Peter
Pan
My
most cherished day of the year began with a special glow and calm
excitement...knowing the day would be wonderful. Yet, it had nothing
to do with stockings, a tree or presents!
For
many children, the Christmas season is magical and special with the
fragrance of pine and the display of lights along with family
traditions. Although I agree wholeheartedly, there was always a
special day that came around once a year that had nothing to do with
Christmas or any holiday...it was the first day of summer vacation!
I
was eight years old when I became acutely aware of how I felt about
the first day of summer vacation – that there was something
extra special about the day after the last day of the school year.
Over the years, I have tried to pinpoint why this particular day
resonated with my much younger self...almost as if I had been under a
magical veil of pixie dust that promised a whole day of
wonderfulness.
The
preamble to this almost dream-like state was when I would leave the
school yard of my elementary school on the last day of school. My
arms full of stuff to bring home, I would look out at the playground.
Kids swarmed around laughing, playing on the jungle gym and chasing
each other. I would take a minute to acknowledge that in a day, the
school and playground would become very quiet...almost like a summer
hibernation except for the occasional teacher doing something in
their classroom or a few kids riding their bikes on the blacktop. As
my friends and I walked home, I wondered if they “felt it”.
Most of the conversation was about things we were going to do,
vacation plans and enjoying no homework along with being able to play
outside after dinner until 8:45pm when we heard our parents’
whistle to come home. After depositing my school stuff, we grabbed a
snack and played until it was dinner time. After the meal and ice
cream for dessert, my sisters and I watched a few favorite TV shows
before they would be reruns for the summer. As I laid down to go to
sleep, I started thinking about the summer days ahead with great
anticipation.
With
no alarm clock to wake up to abruptly...my sweet slumber slowly
yielded to a half-awake state...and as I woke up fully, I knowingly
smiled as I remembered that it was the magical first day of summer
vacation. Everything was the same...but it wasn’t. As I climbed
up the stairs to the kitchen and sat down at the table, I looked
around. The big cat was in his favorite chair, the coffee percolator
was making its usual gurgling noises and the Lucky Charms cereal box
was on the table – just like normal. Yet, things felt
lighter...and brighter. It seemed like conversations with my sisters
took on a different tone (we normally argued a lot) – almost
jovial. My mother seemed more relaxed most likely due to less
mediating and less structure (I
believe I
inherited my structured wiring from my grandmother Grace, not my
mother).
With
nothing I had to do, I took my time deciding what would follow
breakfast all the while being aware of this mysterious happy feeling.
As I walked down the hill to play with my friend, Laura, the warm sun
and slight breeze yielded another sign of summer…with a dash
of pixie dust. With no school day structure, we knew it was lunch
time when we were hungry, not from the shrill of the school bell. As
we ate our sandwiches outside on the picnic table, I soaked in the
scents of summers – the sweet fragrance of nearby honeysuckle,
the buzzing sounds of insects circling (of course hoping the
mosquitoes wouldn’t bite us) and the cool shade that surrounded
the table – another sign of summer…with a pinch of pixie
dust.
After
taking some time in my mother’s rather chaotic “sewing
room” rooting through hefty bags of summer clothes to find
bathing suits, cover-ups and towels, we made it to the tennis club
for an afternoon swim. My sisters and I were aware that the
main reason we belonged to this club was because our dad played
tennis on the weekends. Regardless, we appreciated being able to go
swimming and order from the snack bar (a big deal to us)…of
course we would be in big trouble if we charged too much candy.
Unfortunately, the monthly bill was itemized so our parents could see
what we bought – yikes! More scents of summer floated in the
air – suntan lotion, chlorine from the pool and hot dogs from
the snack bar grill. The only rules (unlike at school) were no
running and kids had to get out of the pool for the hourly adult
swim. The water was refreshing as the sunlight beamed down creating
patterns in the water. I tried to find a friend since it would reduce
the number of times my middle sister dunked me under the water. While
we were in the pool, my mother lost herself in an Agatha Christie
mystery under her wide brimmed hat. Her bathing suit was more for
fashion than for swimming but she did take a dip in the pool during
adult swim as we made our way to the snack bar...never failing to
bring her back a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I
definitely inherited my love of chocolate from my mother).
Back
home and changed into shorts and tank tops, we crowded around the TV
to watch Gilligan’s
Island
or Get Smart
munching on pretzels before setting the table for dinner. After
eating, we ventured out for the first official night of summer
vacation. With the other neighbor kids, we played “Red Rover”,
Red Light Green Light and Mother May I. Since there was a fairly big
age range, we younger kids would try and listen to what the teenagers
were saying since it seemed rather grown-up and we wanted to know
what they were up to. I knew later on in the summer, we would be
sliding down the large hill in the neighbor’s backyard on
flattened cardboard...one good thing about the hills turning brown
and dry in the summer...really made the cardboard fly! Before we knew
it, the whistle from our deck came…it was 8:45pm – time
to head home. After baths and changed into summer PJ’s, we
joined my mother who was watching something on TV…of
course thrilled to be able to stay up later since there was no school
the next day.
As
I walked downstairs to the bunk bed I shared with my middle sister, I
wasn’t even thinking about us arguing who was going to turn off
the light. I felt the special glow as the first day of summer was
coming to an end. Perhaps it really just came down to a bunch of
ordinary things that added up to an extraordinary day. And, the pixie
dust was a combination of “summer sun warming my face as a cool
breeze floats by” freedom, gratitude (a child’s view) and
knowing it will happen again next year…all cloaked under the
mystic veil of simplicity and spontaneity. Perhaps we remember the
first day of summer vacation or Christmas as wonderful because even
as adults we want these childhood feelings back …and a
sprinkling of pixie dust for good measure.
“I
suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it?
Time
is chasing after all of us.”
― J.M.
Barrie, Peter
Pan
Epilogue
Years
later, when my two children and I left their elementary school class
parties on the last day of school, I wondered if they “felt
it”. I am happy to say I did…the pixie dust came back
and tomorrow (like every first day of summer vacation) would be an
extraordinary day through the enchanted lens of my children.
Writer’s
Note: This story is dedicated to my mother, Judy, who passed away
January 9, 2021.
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