Summertime, a monologue.

Ah, I love summer. But I had forgotten how much I loved it.
I always forget everything. I forget summer until it comes back. I forget winter unless it is winter. I forget pain until it comes back. I forget tastes of things and textures, smells. I forget tunes and people's faces. I forget everything, basically.
But yes, until it is summer, I always forget how much I LOVE IT!!!!

I love everything about summer here. The smells, the warm air, and hot sun, getting tanned...
I love the way I can usually lose some weight.
The way I can just sit and warm my bones.
The way that water seems friendlier somehow, I can't explain that. Even my skin feels different.
I love the happiness in the air, the lazy happiness. I love that it's Christmas soon.
Summer- Te quiero mucho!
Natsu ga daisuki!
I love the smells the most, I think.
When it rains, and the warm earth sends this amazing scent up, and when its very hot, the flowers send all their beautiful perfumes across the whole country.
Or so it feels.
And the cool breezes. The grass, the light!
When I was a child, every February or so (the month of my birthday), we used to go strawberry picking as a family. Sometimes we also picked nectarines, boysenberries, blackberries or mandarins. Mostly strawberries. I love fresh strawberries, just picked, red, soft, warm and juicy. They aren't too sweet, either. When people make jams and sauces, they add so much sugar. But strawberries aren't supposed to be too sweet.

I had a wonderful childhood. I never realised. I was very selfish. In fact, I still am. But of course I am learning not to be. Slowly...
Aside from school, which I always hated and always will, I had a lovely time, playing with my friends, and my toys.
But what I really loved was our family outings.
We went everywhere. It didn't really matter where. Cost wasn't the thing as much as new discoveries with my family nearby.
We went to parks, to the zoo, to the aquarium, to restarants. My parents had money and they spent it on us. We got new toys all the time. We weren't rich, although everyone thought we were, and I got picked on at school for that a tiny bit.
We were well-off, but sometimes mum and dad would say that we had to 'be careful' and that meant we couldn't have new things for a while. But soon enough we could do anything again.
I remember so many wonderful times, but two that stick in my mind (besides fruit picking) are that for a while, we went through a phase where every Saturday morning, mum would send dad down to the local bakery to buy raisin buns and we would have sweet-glazed raisin buns for breakfast.
The other one is when we had had dinner and my sister and I were playing quietly when mum came up to us with a gleam in her eye. We looked up when she said, 'Let's go out to get icecream!' We often did this, went to different places in Auckland city. But this time, we asked where we were going and our parents said 'It's a surprise.'
We drove and drove, and I realised. 'We're going to Pokeno!' I cried, and my sister squealed excitedly. Pokeno was a place roughly half-way between Auckland and Hamilton. The dairy there always gave very big icecreams for a cheap price. We often got icecream when passing through to visit my aunt in Hamilton, but we had never been at night before. Until this time.
It was so wonderful and exciting. Then, about half-way home, mum said, 'Shall we go back and get another one?' So we did.
I remember eating my mother's baking. It was lovely! Nobody makes cheese straws or cheese scones like my mother. She made meals all the time. I loved it!
I remember eating pork crackling with my father. You used to be able to buy it in cute little packets, all dried and crunchy, like potato chips. It's the only way I have ever liked pork crackling. I always think of my father when I smell or see pork crackling.

I am very grateful to my parents for giving me such an idyllic childhood.
I have never told them this. But I think I will.
I was very lucky that they had the money and they enjoyed spending it on us girls.
I want very much to do the same for my family if and when I have one.
But enough about that.

I have to go now. I just wanted to enthuse about summer.
God Bless You.
And money is there to be spent!