To celebrate summer, we’ve invited our staff to share something they love about summer – an event, a memory, a favorite food … you get the idea. This week, Victoria Nguyen tells us what summer means to her!
Dearest readers,
Summer is my second to favorite season. Autumn is my favorite (cooler temperatures, beautiful scenery), but summer is the season with the most – and best – memories. For me, summer means family.
During the school year, with our busy schedules, it seemed like dinner was one of the few times during the day where we saw each other before drifting back into our own separate activities. Summertime, to me, is best spent catching up on all those days we went our separate ways each day- together as a family.
A (Rare) Family Picture July 2014
My parents still had to work, so as the oldest, I was in charge of my younger brother and sister. During the week, it would just be us three, braving the battle of summer boredom. We would take my sister to the YMCA pool; go to the library and check out dozens of books; play the Wii; or rent movies from RedBox. Sure, we had opportunities to do things alone and hang out with other friends, but it was more family time.
On weekends, my family would go out to eat; take day trips to the beach; head to the mall; or get together with our extended family.
It’s funny how time changes your perspective! Back then all I wanted to do was to get out of the house, get out of family hangouts, and chill with my friends. Now that I’m in college, I have more appreciation for the little things.
- The ability to bicker and tease with my siblings.
- The nefarious oldest sibling power I exercised over them.
- The loud dinners where we all gathered after a long day and talked about our days, or discussed news and other happenings with our parents.
- The car rides where we horribly sang along with the radio while our parents wondered what happened to good music.
This is my first summer away from home. I’m in my college town working in labs and on internships. Three hours isn’t too far away, but sometimes a week goes by before I see them – through a webcam. It’s not the same.
Dinners are very much quieter when it’s just me sitting at the counter alone with my quickly thrown together meal. The bus ride is much lonelier when you’re sitting around a bunch of strangers.
For me, summer isn’t about the summer heat, the beach, the vacations, or even the endless opportunities to eat ice cream! My favorite part of summer is spending time with family. Right now it is memories of seeing and talking with them for more than two hours a day.
My parents have shown me that the greatest gift a parent can give to their child is time! And kids – I know I sound old, but don’t be in such a rush to leave or be independent. Enjoy the now, because someday it just won’t go back to what it used to be, and you’ll miss it.
I certainly do.
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