I shared a little about growing up in a small Iowa town last week in my post, “Small Town Life.” At the end of that post, I indicated that I would be sharing more around that theme in the future. Today, I decided that my post would give you a glimpse into an average summer day in my childhood.

Not every day was the same but each of them carried some typical elements. Each of them was filled with a lot of time outside, exploration, and adventure. My mother would encourage me to go outside. I always thought it was because she wanted me to explore and enjoy the world around me but as I have grown a bit older, I think often she wanted me out of her hair. Either way, I was more than happy to oblige her.

After I had awakened and dressed, I headed outside for a day of adventure. One of the nice aspects of living in a small town is that you never seemed to worry about where you were headed or who you would meet. There were certain signals which told you that you needed to check in at home but other than that you were able to explore the  whole time. Only your age and energy put boundaries on the exploration.

After departing from the house, time consisted of checking out the yard. Maybe a little time on the swing which hung from the branch of the tall pine tree in our front yard. Then out to the back corner where the weeping willow tree could become a hideaway as the long branches concealed a small boy when he got close to the trunk. There was always some type of insect to discover on the ground and you could spend a large amount of time sitting in the shade of that tree without anyone being able to easily find you. Of course the yard exploration could not be complete without inspecting the apple tree which actually was in the yard of the next door neighbors but right along your yard. Then head over to other side of the yard where the small abandoned shed with the discarded appliances was located. During the right time of the summer, you could pick mulberries from the volunteer tree on the side of the shed. Then create a whole story line of adventure in the shed playing with the unwanted stove.

Soon the fire whistle in town would sound. This sound at this time of the day meant it was noon. When this whistle blew, I knew it was time for me to stop my adventures from the morning and head into the house. It would not be long before I would hear the engine of my dad’s work van. He was a self-employed electrician but knew that mother always expected him to arrive at noon for lunch. I would go inside, wash my hands, and as soon as dad was in the house and settled in at the kitchen table, mom would set out whatever she had planned for that day. Lunch was always a lighter meal and sometimes consisted of left-overs. After eating lunch, dad would go lay down for his midday nap which lasted from the point he was finished eating until 1:00 pm. Mom would clean up from lunch and I would head outside to begin my adventures for the afternoon unless I was planning on going to the town’s swimming pool.

If I did not head to the swimming pool, I might get on my bike and go visit a friend whose dad was the Lutheran pastor. We spent hours riding our bikes on the sidewalks of the church and the block surrounding it while we played cops and robbers. Or the afternoon might consist of joining my friend who lived behind me as we headed across the large outfield of the school’s ball diamond to a clump of trees and overgrown plants. In the center of this area we had built a fort which included space for us to sit on pieces of wood and dream up adventures. After sitting there a while, we might climb up on to the railroad tracks that ran alongside the area. We would walk down the tracks to the train trestle bridge. If I was feeling brave, I would walk from railroad tie to railroad tie of the bridge to get to the other side. Always looking down through the space between the ties and shaking a little because of how high we were above the creek. Once on the other side we might decide to crawl down the hillside on the side opposite of the junk yard where a big and ferocious dog who no one had ever seen but had heard lived. This would take us to the small creek where we would spend time exploring, digging for crawfish and enjoying the cold water.

The afternoon adventures would continue until once again the town’s fire whistle would blow to indicate it was now 6:00 pm. The whistle had the same effect that the noon whistle did for every kid in the town. Now was the time to go home because supper (I did not call the evening meal dinner until I went to college) was on the table. There was a little grace period from when the whistle sounded until you were expected to be coming through the front door of the house. If you went too long, then you probably were confined to the house the rest of the evening. If you made it inside by the reasonable amount of time after the whistle then you could return to the outside until the appointed time.

Evening adventures depended a little upon what part of the summer we were in and when the sun went down. These adventures might include time on the swing in the front yard again and seeing how high I could get the swing. It also could mean heading to school to play with others on the playground equipment. As we came closer to fall, it usually always included time spent in one of the makeshift football fields we created either in the back part of the ball diamond’s outfield or the open lots that were near the school building. My responsibility was to be the referee of such intense scrimmages. When the sun went down, it was expected that I head home. If it was an extremely warm night, I may be allowed to run across the street to the ball diamond and see how many fireflies I could catch in the mayonnaise jar which Mom had put holes in the lid of with a nail. If not, then often I was off to the bathroom to take a bath and get cleaned up for bed.

Every day was a little different and had a variety of combinations of activities and adventures. Although the consistent aspect of a day in the life of this small town boy was activity and adventure outside. By the end of the summer, I would be bronze from time spent in the sun. Staying inside was not a choice. Besides, it was hotter inside since we did not have any form of air conditioning in the house until I was in junior high school and then only a window air conditioner in the living room.

I would not have traded this type of life for the world. My memories bring a smile to my face.

I shared a little about growing up in a small Iowa town last week in my post, “Small Town Life.”  At the end of that post, I indicated that I would be sharing more around that theme in the future.  So today, I decided that my post would give you a glimpse into an average summer day in my childhood.

Not every day was exactly the same but each of them carried some typical elements.  Each of them was filled with a lot of time outside, exploration, and adventure. My mother would encourage me to go outside.  I always thought it was because she wanted me to explore and enjoy the world around me but as I have grown a bit older, I think it was often because she wanted me out of her hair.  Either way, I was more than happy to oblige her.

So after I had awakened and dressed, I headed outside for a day of adventure.  One of the nice aspects of living in a small town is that you never seemed to worry about where you were headed or who you would encounter. There were certain signals which told you that you needed to check in at home but other than that you were given the whole town to explore. Only your age and energy put boundaries on the exploration.

After departing from the house, time was usually spent checking out the yard.  Maybe a little time on the swing which hung from the branch of the tall pine tree in our front yard.  Then out to the back corner where the weeping willow tree could become a hideaway as the long branches concealed a small boy when he got close to the trunk.  There was always some type of insect to discover on the ground and you could spend a large amount of time sitting in the shade of that tree without anyone being able to easily find you.  Of course the yard exploration could not be complete without inspecting the apple tree which actually was in the yard of the next door neighbors but right along your yard. Then head over to other side of the yard where the small abandoned shed with the discarded appliances was found.  During the right time of the summer, you could pick mulberries from the volunteer tree on the side of the shed. Then create a whole storyline of adventure in the shed playing with the unwanted stove.

Soon the fire whistle in town would sound.  This sound at this time of the day meant it was noon.  When this whistle blew, I knew it was time for me to stop my adventures from the morning and head into the house.  It would not be long before I would hear the engine of my dad’s work van. He was a self-employed electrician but knew that mother always expected him to arrive at noon for lunch.  I would go inside, wash my hands, and as soon as dad was in the house and settled in the kitchen table, mom would set out whatever she had planned for that day. Lunch was always a lighter meal and sometimes consisted of left-overs.  After eating lunch, dad would go lay down for his midday nap which lasted from the point he was done eating until 1:00 pm. Mom would clean up from lunch and I would head outside to begin my adventures for the afternoon unless I was planning on going to the town’s swimming pool.

If I did not head to the swimming pool, I might get on my bike and go visit a friend whose dad was the Lutheran pastor.  We spent many hours riding our bikes on the sidewalks of the church and the block surrounding it while we played cops and robbers.  Or the afternoon might consist of joining my friend who lived behind me as we headed across the large outfield of the school’s ball diamond to a clump of trees and overgrown plants.  In the center of this area we had built a fort which included space for us to sit on pieces of wood and dream up adventures. After sitting there a while, we might climb up on to the railroad tracks that ran alongside the area.  We would walk down the tracks to the train trestle bridge. If I was feeling extremely brave, I would walk from railroad tie to railroad tie of the bridge to get to the other side. Always looking down through the space between the ties and shaking a little because of how high we were above the creek.  Once on the other side we might decide to crawl down the hillside on the side opposite of the junk yard where a big and ferocious dog who no one had ever seen but had heard lived. This would take us to the small creek where we would spend time exploring, digging for craw fish and enjoying the cold water.

The afternoon adventures would continue until once again the town’s fire whistle would blow to indicate it was no 6:00 pm. The whistle had the same effect that the noon whistle did for every kid in the town.  It was time to go home because supper (I did not call the evening meal dinner until I went to college) was on the table. You were given a little grace period from when the whistle sounded until you were expected to be coming through the front door of the house.  If you went too long, then you probably were confined to the house the rest of the evening. If you made it inside by the reasonable amount of time after the whistle then you could return to the outside until the appointed time.

Evening adventures depended a little upon what portion of the summer we were in and when the sun went down.  These adventures might include time on the swing in the front yard again and seeing how high I could get the swing.  It also could mean heading to school to play with others on the playground equipment. As we came closer to fall, it usually always included time spent in one of the makeshift football fields we created either in the back part of the ball diamond’s outfield or the open lots that were near the school building.  My responsibility was usually to be the referee of such intense scrimmages. When the sun went down, it was expected that I headed home. If it was an extremely warm night, I may be given some time to run across the street to the ball diamond and see how many fireflies I could catch in the mayonnaise jar which Mom had put holes in the lid of with a nail.  If not, then often I was sent to the bathroom to take a bath and get cleaned up for bed.

Every day was a little different and had a variety of combinations of activities and adventures.  Although the consistent aspect of a day in the life of this small town boy was activity and adventure outside.  By the end of the summer, I would be bronze from time spent in the sun. Staying inside was not really an option.  Besides, it was hotter inside since we did not have any form of air conditioning until I was in junior high school and then it was just a window air conditioner in the living room.

I would not have traded this type of life for the world.  My memories bring a smile to my face.