Why Summer Shines

I was recently walking around the neighborhood with a neighbor friend, and as we were walking I realized we both had moved into Travis Country twenty-three years ago in June.  The funny thing is that the house my neighbor friend and her family live in is the house that lured us into Travis Country, but they had an offer on that house, so we were left with choosing another available house for sale, which is still our home.  As we walked and reflected on our history in the neighborhood, I continued to ponder about the people, places, and things that truly make me feel blessed to call Travis Country home.

Since we moved here in the summer, the first introduction I had to a festive event was my across-the-street neighbor telling me about the annual Fourth of July Parade.  We had only lived in the neighborhood a few weeks, and our daughter was ten months old, so I put her in our baby jogger and strolled over to see about the parade.  We fell in line and made our way behind the fire truck waving at neighbors along the way.  The following years we would spend the night before the 4th decorating either wagons or bikes for our kids to ride in the parade, then once they were in middle school, we put together a makeshift band of adults and kids beginning their musical journey and had the Travis Country Standing Band, where we played patriotic songs while standing in our driveway as the parade passed by.

Within those first few months of us being new to the neighborhood, I sent out a message in the TC Notes to start a playgroup so that I would have parents to commiserate with and our children could have friends close by. They say those are the salad days, and I have to agree.  Sipping frozen pink lemonade on the back porch swing while the kids ran around in the yard, usually running through the sprinklers, are vivid memories I cherish.  We would continue to have lots of play dates at either Hilltop or Blue Valley playground over the years and that segued into our participation with the Travis Country Sharks Swim Team, which we continued to do every summer for June. The many different families we met and the friends we have made during our years on the swim team were amazing.  Quite a few I considered “our swim team friends” as we only got to see them during the swim season since our kids either attended different schools or are different ages but everything fell away with the unity in being a beloved SHARK!

Reflecting on summer, the TC Sharks swim team and our time spent at the pool as a family encapsulate summer traditions that allowed our kids to be kids. They rode their bikes to the pool and met their friends to play Marco Polo or jump off the diving board, figure out who was having a sleepover, and if they planned on having a lemonade stand.  Life just slows down during the summer and everyone gets out and enjoys your neighbors company. 

Our kids are older now, but they are home for their summer break, and in between their summer jobs and other activities, we still find time to go to Blue Valley pool in the later afternoons or evenings for a family swim or to meet up with friends to visit and take a dip in the pool.

There are still plenty of other activities to look forward to throughout the summer, and all the other seasons, but I hold the summer in Travis Country closest to my heart because it is the time of year we moved here and made it our home.