The Sunshine Tag

Anything associated with the sun and sunshine is somehow very special to me. And I guess when Silverine titled her tag with plenty of sunshine in it, I knew it had to be special. She has given an awesome description of her summers, and all the good cheers it brought along with it. Took me back to my own childhood...

Here are 8 great memories about my summers:

1. Whenever I think of my childhood, I have these flashes of memory..Kind of real time, where I get transported to the massive garden we had. The house was in a plot that extended almost an acre. And it was filled with greenery; a proper garden in the front half, and more dense thick greenery in the back. Most of my childhood was spent among this greenery, among the dragonflies, squirrels..small life and my own small world.

2. The thought of summer also brings back memories of lying on the green grass and staring at the sky and sun, for hours together.. I remember it so clearly even today. I think thats one of the most beautiful images you can ever have in life. You, green earth, blue sky. Nothing else in between.

3. I used to go fishing right from childhood, whether it was in the city I lived or at my ancestral home, somewhere I would find a fishing pond. And go with my country fishing gear, which just included a hook and a twine - earthworms were picked fresh from the ground : . That used to be one real fun pastime. And I almost became a marine exporter at one point :)

4. If I can remember one fruit to associate with the summer it is an Orange. Orange ice-candies, orange juice, orange when you are happy, orange when you are thirsty, orange when you are having a cold, orange when you get scolded...I love oranges.

5. One of the best summers in my life was the summer that I received one of my best friends, my German Shepherd. He was just over a month when I received him. And we grew up together that summer. I never had another dog after him. He was the best.

6. Summer also meant cousins and friends. All the children got together, usually at a grandparents house - almost as though our parents dumped us and got rid of us for a while. It was a period when you bonded with some of them more closely, finding real friends from among friends..because he or she played with you when others were least interested..or because he or she shared some chocolate with you, or coz he or she swore not to tell who broke the vase. It also meant a lot of "robber and police", "dark room", cricket (indoor version too), football, basketball, pillow fights, and even "cindrella"!

7. For many consecutive years, summer also meant some major holiday plans. At some point summers became a time when folks would also take a break and travel a bit. But at that age, whether it was delhi, kodaikanal, singapore, dubai or thailand, it didnt make a difference to us kids. We had fun.

8. Summers also meant learning something new. I guess its in the summer that I learnt a lot of good and useful things in life. Riding a bicycle, driving a car, earning your own money (even if it was just 50p), washing cars, cleaning the house, camps, realizing the bitter truth that you were not born to become Slash on the guitar or Phil Collins on the drums.. it all happened in summer.

Since its been almost 8 months since this tag was due (apologies to Silverine :), I leave the honor of tagging 8 others to any volunteers.