Childhood Summertime Memories

 Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm doing pretty well. Today we're going to be talking about some of my childhood summertime memories. So nothing too elaborate or anything like that. Let's get into it.

So summers for me were actually pretty quiet for the most part. Because my friends lived far enough away that they couldn't get on their bikes and come over whenever they wanted for the most part, I spent a lot more time with my siblings. We'd play outside, watch TV, play video games and play with our toys together.

I remember our summer routine in 1996 specifically. We'd play in the backyard, and then after lunch we'd play Batman: The Video Game on the NES until it was time for reruns of The Woody Woodpecker Show and episodes of Sailor Moon, which we watched on YTV. 

Later on, after 1997, we had small inflatable pools that we'd go in during the summer, as well as our waterguns that we'd get each other with. We'd also run through the sprinkler as well. 

Because some of our houses didn't have airconditioning, we also spent a lot of time at my grandparents's place, which was five minutes away from our house when we lived in the log house, two minutes when we lived on Parkway Road and in the house we lived in from 1997 to 2016, because they had airconditioning. So we'd watch TV on those days because it was too hot for me to be outside because of my asthma and heart condition. Like I remember watching the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode, "Clean-Up Club" on YTV one afternoon when we were at Nana's and Grandpa's. Grandpa also had a garden in their backyard, complete with a small pond, so we'd spend so much time out there, eating popsicles and ice cream, even though I was tubefed and a bag on my neck to collect anything I swallowed as I had no esophagus, and running around, even though I had a wheelchair and crutches at the time. 

My mom would also take us to the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Science & Tech Museum from time to time as well. We never went to the Museum of Civilization as that was across the bridge in Gatineau (then known as Hull) and Mom never enjoyed driving downtown very often, if she could help it. But the other two museums were close enough that she didn't mind taking us there every once in a while.

However, the one place that I loved going to just about every summer from the age of 2 or 3 until I was 28, going on 29. That was my grandparents's cottage up in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec. I had friends up there, my cousins (when they were born in the late '90s and early 2000s) were there with their family, and obviously my grandparents were there. We swam in the lake, I walked around the area, visiting friends of the family as well as various other folks who lived up there that my grandparents knew. We had movie nights at the local clubhouse, listening to music on audiocassette, and all sorts of other things. The cottage was like a third home to me (CHEO was my second home). 

Alright my friends, I think that's going to be it for me for today. I'll be back on Friday with a post about the Star Wars: Power of the Force toyline as I was reminded today that it's the 30th anniversary of that toyline, and I've had a few of the figures and ships from it over the years. Until then have a wonderful evening and I will talk to you all later. Take care.