Old Time Summer Swimming Holes

I took the kids to the brook this week.  Some may say "a brook?" Here in Vermont we have 'brooks' in other parts of the country it's called a stream or a crick. As we were walking the brook looking for that 'perfect' place to call our special swimming hole for the summer, I couldn't help but start having memories of years past doing the same thing with my Mom that I'm doing with my kids now.

I stopped in my tracks and started taking it all in.  The tangy smells of the air, the sounds of the water running over the rocks, the forget-me-nots and daisies growing

We found a couple of great spots in our brook that will work nicely this summer.  Here are the kiddos swimming.

It's not big by any means, but to kids' it's the greatest thing in the world.  Here they can play, cool off and be themselves.  They enjoy nature and everything that is going on around them.  I love to hear them complain when I say "time to go!" It tells me they are having a great time and have grasped the importance of using the imagination.  Here there are no computers, TVs, ipods, (they'd get smashed on a rock in seconds) They can just PLAY! 

Gone are the days when you can go outside at 7am on a summer day and not come home until the street lights come on at night.  You would show up for lunch, with 3 friends in tow and then you'd go back out and play!  Clothes got filthy, shoes got mud on them that turned into concrete, and you had about 27 scratches from the berry bushes loaded with yummy fruit! 

You could get the entire neighborhood together and either play capture the flag (which in our case had about a 4 mile radius) or we'd wait until night time and play hide and seek where everyone's yard on the street was 'fair territory'.  I remember my brother-in-law hiding in the top of a tree and we couldn't find him at all.  He's up there hanging on for dear life and the evergreen just kept swaying back and forth as we were running around screaming "WHERE IS HE?!" 

There was no obesity issues.  We were always running around, or riding our bikes.  We were never inside even if it rained.  We put the rain gear on and were out the door.  Mothers' loved us playing, but hated putting us in the tub because that meant the next morning she would be about an hour scrubbing the tub...but hey, we were kids, that's what we do!

So as I watched my kids swimming in the brook, I really was happy to see them enjoying the simple life.  A life that isn't truly gone, it's just been put on the top shelf for a bit.  So if you remember those days and you have kids, take them out.   Remember the fun you had, and let them play and get dirty!  Go find that swimming hole!