Has it gotten hotter over the years since we were kids or is it just my imagination? Yesterday, I was driving to an appointment in yet another 104 degree day. I looked down the street that I was passing to see 4 moms sitting in lawn chairs, sipping drinks out of pastel colored plastic glasses while a flock of children lined up for their turn to race down the "slip and slide" and a few more jump through a twirling sprinkler. My heart jumped with delight.
That slick, yellow "slip and slide" was my favorite way to cool off on a hot summer scorcher when we were too young to make it to Reed Park pool on our own. Ellen and I used to invite all of the neighborhood kids over to take their turn speeding down the wet, yellow lane spraying water all over each other. Daddy would hook the hose up to it and the cold faucet water would flood the surface. Each of us would get a head start by running across the yard to build our momentum and causing our bodies to jet down the runway until we hit the grass at the end. It was a blast!
I have often wondered what happen to this great summer indulgence. Until yesterday, I hadn't seen one in years. I'm sure that our slip and slide and the great "water wiggle" got dumped as our childhoods gave way to adolescence. Life was so much simpler then. The things that were the most fun cost nothing. Yes, it was probably as hot then as it is now, but no one noticed. Our parents sat in lawn chairs in our front yard sipping cool drinks out of pastel colored tumblers while we had the time of our lives sliping and sliding and squealing with each pass down the slide. No need to worry about the Austin water police.
Enjoy these last few weeks of summer in Austin with your families. We are so blessed to share these special times together. Simple and fun, and school is just around the corner.
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