Today is beautifully sunny but cold. Fern didn’t join us last night because the open window made the room really chilly. I needed to snuggle under the comforter, and Gracie needed to snuggle next to me.

This is the first big weekend here. Yesterday afternoon traffic to go over the bridge was backed up for three miles. People are anxious for summer to wipe out the memories of winter and endless snow storms. Other than today, the weekend will be warm, even in the 70’s. I figure the beaches will be filled but not yet the water. It is still too cold.

When I was a kid, this was a big weekend. I got to march in the town’s parade first as a brownie then as a girl scout. I remember being so excited I was part of the parade. People would come and watch me. I, not ever being shy, would wave. It wasn’t the queen’s dainty wave. It was more enthusiastic with a quick back and forth. We never really marched in any sort of beat or formation. We just walked. The best part of the parade was marching by my parents. They clapped, waved and yelled my name. I was thrilled. The parade always finished at the cemetery where there were speeches. We stood way in the back, and I never really listened.

Memorial Day was always the start of summer for us. Bulky clothes were gone. It was time for the end of school countdown. The grasshoppers returned to the field and the polliwogs to the swamp. Darkness came late so the streetlights stayed unlit. Supper was a bit more casual maybe sloppy Joes or burgers or on Fridays fried dough. The windows were all opened so the air was sweet and the bedrooms seemed bigger, airier. Life was good.