Simple Summer Pleasures of my Youth

I heard a song this morning on the radio on the way to work. Not sure what it was called but it was Kid Rock singing. For some reason I like some of his songs. This one was about being young during the summer in northern Michigan. Since I grew up in southern Michigan and took many summer vacations in northern Michigan it sounded familar. It made me remember all the simple summer pleasures of youth.

• Swimming in the lake
• Sitting by the fire at night
• Canoeing
• Fishing or really we were tanning on the pontoon boat but pretending to fish
• Spending the night on my friend's pool deck or sleeping in a tent that we made out of blankets
• Playing board games on the front porch with my friends since we didn't have air conditioning
• Bicycling around the town
• Watching baseball games at local park
• Having the time to read all the books I want
• Lounging under our willow tree because it was the coolest place that I knew

If I only knew that life was simple back then - even though I thought it was complicated. I had my whole life ahead of me and had no idea where it would take me. I am not sure I would take the path that I did, but I don't know what I would change either. Every moment made me the person I am today and now that I am "older" I appreciate that person.