In the summer before I turned twelve, I spent five weeks at my Great Aunt’s house out on Briar Lake. It was fun enough, all things considered. I mean, my great aunt and uncle didn’t have kids so their house wasn’t exactly thrilling but there was plenty to do on the lake and there was a movie theater in town for nights when I got really bored. I’d spent time up there off and on with my family over the years so I knew a few kids nearby but nobody I considered a close friend. That is, until that summer.
Briar Lake was tucked away in an area Philadelphians looking to get out of the city would call “up-there” and New Yorkers referred to as “the boonies”. It was a nice town though, especially in the summer. The kind of place where parents let their kids go out after dark and didn’t worry. My aunt’s house was one of five that sat along the eastern shore of the lake, a section of which curved inward, forming a sort of natural cul-de-sac. My first week was spent mostly swimming, I saw two movies, managed to put in a little time with the Super Nintendo I brought along, and flipped through a few well-worn chapters of my copy of A Wrinkle In Time. One night after dinner I was sitting out on the back deck, overlooking the lake, when I noticed a girl two houses down doing the same thing. The next day I was swimming and found myself out there with the same girl. Her name was Tommy, at least that’s what she said her nickname was and that everybody called her that. Whether it was because her older brothers thought it was funny to call her a boy’s name or she used to be a tomboy, I don’t know, but it wasn’t until years later when I caught myself thinking about her that I realized I didn’t know her real name. Only the pet-name she told me.
She was staying there with her family too, just for the summer. Her father was in the air force so they moved around a lot, she said. For the next few weeks we spent every day together, sometimes from morning till night. Neither of us had a backyard to pitch a tent but we did camp out one night on my family’s pontoon. There are moments in my life, times that are burned in my memory and when I close my eyes I can feel myself transported back to them. That night was one of those moments. I’d never had a girlfriend before. Frankly, I hadn’t thought about it until then. We stayed up all night talking, she told me about all the places she’d lived, we thought about what we’d like to be when we grew up, that sort of stuff. The sun came up on the lake and brought with it the most incredible red glow that burst across the surface of the water. This was the first time I fell in love.
Later that week we all went to the county park, her family and mine, to see the 4th of July fireworks. We set ourselves up on a blanket, away from the others, on a nearby hill. As the sky was lit up by brilliant blasts of blue, red, and white, we lied there together. In the dark, occasionally lit by fireworks and lightning bugs, we kissed. It was my first time.
That summer came to a close and, with it, my first romance. I’m not sure what ever happened to her but I take comfort knowing what we had was special, untainted by the things that complicate adult relationships. Few things can take me back to my childhood like thinking about that summer, when feelings were confusing but pure and exciting. Still, I find myself occasionally taken back to how it felt to be young- the smell of a box of crayons, for instance, triggers a sense memory in me and I am suddenly in touch with that inner child we hear so much about. Likewise, nothing brings with it the joys of childhood like the delicious taste of the new Pop Tarts Oatmeal Delights. Available now in Mapley Brown Sugar and Strawberry flavors, Pop Tarts Oatmeal Delights reminds us all of the simple wonders of being a kid, whether it's flashing back to your first kiss, that time you threw up in front of your 6th grade crush, or that Christmas when you got the thing you really wanted. They’re warm, comforting, and most of all, delicious. The hearty oatmeal crust is a complex melange of cinnamon and spices giving way to a sweet strawberry filling, making breakfast time something worth getting up for. One bite and you’ll feel like a kid again!
