Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction | Non-fiction: Adventure with a Purpose

  • Home
  • Mike Scott Thrillers
    • Held Hostage: Search for the Juncal
    • Water Crisis: Day Zero
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Heart of the Maya: Murder for the Gods
    • Wreck of the Huron: Cuban Secrets
    • Guardians’ Keep: Mystery below the Adriatic
    • Flooding Hollywood: Fanatics at the Dam
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
  • Withrow Key
    • Lyin’ Fish
    • Tales from Withrow Key
  • Thriller Audiobooks
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • Lyin’ Fish
  • Agent AJ West
  • About the Author
    • Scuba diving thrillers!
    • Six Questions with Eric Douglas
    • Publicity and Interviews
  • Nonfiction
    • For Cheap Lobster
    • Heart Survivor: Recovery After Heart Surgery
    • Oral History
      • Batter Up!
      • Memories of the Valley
      • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
      • Capturing Memories: How to Record Oral Histories
    • Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story
    • Keep on, Keepin’ On: A Breast Cancer Story
    • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
    • Russia: The New Age
    • Scuba Diving Safety
  • Free Short Fiction
  • Collections
    • Mike Scott Box Set 3 (Books 7-10)
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 4-6
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 1-3
    • Tales from Withrow Key
    • Sea Turtle Rescue and Other Stories
    • River Town
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Adventure / Summer Vacation isn’t always “a trip”

Summer Vacation isn’t always “a trip”

July 10, 2013 By Eric Douglas

When school started up in the fall, the first assignment elementary school teachers used to give was to write a paper about “What I did on my summer vacation”. I’m sure it was simply a way to get to know the new crop of students and to shake the rust off of our sun-baked brains. They probably could have cared less what we actually did.

I remember being a little embarrassed at the time when I didn’t have a big event to report on like some of my classmates. Growing up, we didn’t go to “the beach” every summer. I think I was about 11 years old before I saw the ocean for the first time. On the other hand, I do remember a lot of camping, horseback riding, fishing and swimming in my summers. My brother and I did summer 4-H camps and Vacation Bible School and various other activities, mostly intended to keep our mother from pulling her hair out. Those were the things I wrote about in my back to school essay on the first day of school.

As summer breaks from school get shorter and parental work schedules get tighter, I think we try to do “more” in less time. We parents often think about the summer trip without remembering the little activities. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a summer vacation. I’m all for taking off and going to the beach, digging my toes in the sand and playing in the surf. It is a great excuse to take a break from work, play, nap and relax.

 I just wonder if, in the process of planning the big summer event, we forget about the smaller activities and outings that make summer just as special and just as memorable; the day trips to the parade, the festival or the lake often mean more to us as we look back on our childhood. I know those are the things I think back on now that I have my own children. (I realize there is a fallacy in my logic. I’m just remembering my childhood. If we had taken those big trips, I would probably remember them, too.)

Still, sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on the things that don’t necessarily matter to make up for not emphasizing the things that do. We worry about making sure summer is memorable for our children, without making sure we spend time with them and help them experience life. My daughters have been to the beach a dozen times in their young lives and we are making another trip this summer. Yet, it occurs to me that they haven’t seen many of the things that I saw growing up close to home.

Which one of us had the better childhood?

.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Filed Under: Adventure

Get a free, exclusive short story!

When you sign up, you can download a free Mike Scott short story collection. Theses three stories are only available to members of the mailing list. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you or sell your email address. We hate that, too.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

How I got into diving!

https://youtu.be/gKhw-4tORAM

Real Thugs: A Cult of Murder — Small groups of travelers have disappeared all over the mid-Atlantic without a trace. When bodies turn up with what appear to be ritual markings, FBI Agent AJ West is on the hunt for what might be a serial killer. Or something even more sinister. It’s a race against […]

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

View Book

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Going to the circus! February 20, 2023
  • Cayman Cowboys is now an Audiobook! November 24, 2020
  • Halloween 2020 – as if reality wasn’t scary enough October 30, 2020
  • Real Trick and What Noise? October 30, 2020
  • Local Diving — Summersville Lake September 21, 2020

Blog posts, by category

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 ·