As the weather grows colder here in Australia, I can’t help thinking of warmer months. Memories of summer quickly take me back to the ones of my childhood in north Queensland, when the heat didn’t seem to bother us children as we played outside.
The summer months were filled with swimming at local waterholes, days at the beach and being out on my bicycle riding around the streets with my brother. There were of course flies that seemed to be everywhere and they would try to slip inside with you when you opened the screen door during the day. Of an evening, there were mosquitoes that hounded you when you were outside, their loud, high-pitched whine letting you know they were coming in to attack. On the upside, there were mangoes in the later months of summer. It seemed like every backyard had a mango tree or two and every day I had a few mangoes. Well, maybe more than a few. Quite possibly mangoes at every meal and several in between meals. There were certainly enough of them that everyone could eat as many of them as they wished. There were also barbeques, the smell of steak on the grill hanging heavy in the air, making my mouth water as I waited for the food to be served.
Some things have changed since my childhood summers. Living in south east Queensland means that the heat is drier and it doesn’t feel like the air is filled with a dampness that clings to your skin as you move through it. We also don’t live as close to the beach these days and don’t visit it as frequently. But there are still mangoes and barbeques. Lots of mangoes from the row of trees up behind my house that I raid before the birds get them. And barbeques with family on warm summer evenings, the stars filling the sky, the smells of cooking food filling the air and laughter and conversation accompanying the meal.
So many memories to look back on and so many more memories to looking forward to making in the future.