Childhood is Calling

If I had to make an initial list of things to do this summer for the future lost tribe of childhood members it would go something like this:

Climb in a tree and hang out

Jump across a stream to a grassy bank on the other side

Capture (and release) frogs and salamanders

Jump into thick piles of fresh hay

Play hide and seek in the dark with a tribe of friends

Pick flowers and make bouquets

Build a fort

Pound some nails

Make a homemade toy

Make a paper airplane

Make a toy parachute

Ride a bike across the lawn with no hand

Skip rocks really well

Learn to tie a good knot

Make a lean-to tent from blankets

Camp outside under the stars

Walk with a flashlight in the night woods to spot deer and other nocturnal creatures

Gaze night sky and just try to make sense of those stars ( or learn the constellations!)

Run outside for hour and hours until exhausted

Fall into bed for a good night sleep after running for hours and hours

Learn to swim really well, without fear

Learn to canoe or kayak and paddle down a river or across a lake

Tube down a stream and get bumped around and holler with joy and fear

Have a pet (or many similtaneously)

Plant a small garden and tend it

Grow tomatoes and eat them fresh from the vine

Pick wild blackberries

Pick quarts and quarts of strawberries and eat your fill as you go

Have unlimited strawberry shortcake as a special summer lunch

Plan a neighborhood carnival with friends and family and build all the props from cardboard boxes. Donate the proceeds to a favorite charity.

Ride a bike down a soft grassy hill that end gently at the base (with one or two friends on the seat and handle bar)

Roller skate

Play with jacks

Master the game of marbles

Jump rope (double dutch)

Learn how to build a campfire

Fish (catch and release)

Hook a worm

Gut that fish (not me!)

Make a pie

Make a birthday cake

Make lemonade from scratch

Play barefoot in the grass

Dip toes into soft mucky mud or silt along a brook or stream

Slit grass and make a whistle

Pound rocks and sticks with no other purpose than to pound

Read a favorite book on the lawn, in a hammock

Make a good friend for life

Sleep for hour and hours late into the morning and awake to find a loving parent there to make you breakfast