memorial day memories

i don't know if it's impending motherhood or just getting older, but i recently find myself getting swept up in childhood nostalgia. memories that pop into my head, and i'm like, "whoa! where did that come from?" but it's nice, these trips down memory lane. they remind me of where i came from.

this past weekend, memorial day weekend, the start of summer, came and went. it was filled with yard work, bbqs with friends, and hot sunny summer weather. it was perfect. i asked my husband sunday morning if he knew who was on the poll for the race. he said, "what race?" i replied, "uh, only the biggest racing/sporting spectacular of the year? the indy 500!" he said, "maybe in indiana it's big, but not here." i didn't care what ny sports team was on that day, dammit i was going to watch the race. i turned on the tv just as jim nabors took the stage to sing 'back home again in indiana'. while he was dreaming about the moonlight on the wabash, i started daydreaming of race days past. i remember being a child, 5, 6, 7 years old. race day was a big day in our house. my father would hang the black and white checkered flags from our deck. i vaguely recall a sign saying "welcome race fans" hanging from our front porch. my brother and i were too young to go with our parents to the race so we would spend the night prior at our aunt and uncle's home (which was conveniently across the yard from our home). the group of race goers would meet at our home usually around 6:00 am. i could hear them in our driveway. the whole group seemed so excited and ready to go even at that hour of the morning. my brother and i would camp out in front of the tv watching the race. even if it was nice outside, my aunt had a hard time trying to lure us away. we knew once the race was over it would still be a few more hours until our parents got back home. we would play in the yard with our cousins until we saw our blue van roll into the driveway. i would run over to my dad and ask him who won the race, even though i already knew. he would tell me in his most excited voice like it was his favorite driver ever! i would always chuckle at how sunburned he would be with huge raccoon eyes. no self-respecting man would wear sunscreen, right? we would spend the rest of the evening playing in the backyard while my aunt and uncle had a bbq.

years passed and as we got older memories changed to bbqs and cocktail parties on our deck, just the four of us. my mother would request jimmy buffett music and my brother would inevitably put on some cd we didn't recognize. the nights would end with the feeding frenzy album where we would raise our cocktails and sing along with 'margaritaville'. it was indeed the official start of summer.

mary hulman-george has now said "ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" and i'm brought back to present day. and how times have changed. we had our bbq on monday. yes, the day before a work day which we used to never do. our 4 closets friends came with their children in tow. most of the afternoon revolved around them and taking pictures of them. the boys only played one round of horse shoes. we purchased 2 cases of beer and we have over a case left.

times are definitely a changin'. i look forward to the years to come where we'll create new memories. maybe i'll even take my child to the indy 500 one day or at least watch it with him on tv.