Judy Blume Dreams: Non-Erotic
I remember spring breaks as a kid. My mother packing up every beach towel and bottle of sunscreen we owned. We’d only have one bag each since bathing suits and flip flops didn’t take up much room. I remember searching for my little 110 film camera and best sun visor. I tucked lip balm and Danielle Steel into every pocket and crevice I could find. I scoured objects for batteries to kidnap for my Walkman Cassette Player. I would squint through the back seat windows counting down the mile markers and day dreaming of the perfect surfer dude that would teach me to ‘hang-ten’.
That is in my Judy Blume dreams.
Instead, my mom shuffled us off for a week to whatever relative would take us for as long of the week they would handle us. But, that’s ok. The banks of the tiny Arkansas river and twisted oak and birch trees were all the Caribbean I needed then. The old brick wall that still stands today was my castle, fortress, tent, grocery store, drive-thru, and dinner table. My skin tanned golden brown on those muddy banks and sun bleached my hair blonde just as the Florida sun would on summer vacations. Those precious few family vacations seared enough memories that spring breaks were just an extension. The waves and ripples crashed the banks with the same force and foamy hypnotism. The water may be darker than my beloved Jamaican beaches, but I still can almost taste the sea salt.
I never packed a suitcase to head out for a week with friends, to wander the piers and boardwalks in silly anticipation of catching a cutie’s eye when I was 16. Didn’t mean I didn’t try from the shadowy shores of the Mississippi River. The delusional independence of a driver’s license and the clouded mind of a romance reader. The taste of sin mixed with memories of salt caused pages after pages in notebooks to be filled with silly prose of promises of sex and forever afters.
I have dipped my toes in many beaches’ shores. Snorkeled off the coast of the Caribbean and dove under the volcano edges in Hawaii. My skin tingles with excitement as the rays of spring give hint to the heat of summer. I wait and remember over the brisk week of spring the beauties of the coral reef and the many darting fish waiting for me to explore their magnificent homes… during summer break.
During honey drizzled nights, fireflies, and sin…
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I can see it, smell it, and dream it along with you. I do so love the way you bring it to life for your readers.
Thank you so much.
I’d give ya a big smooch if I could.
If I close my eyes, I’m there. What a Lovely read
You could go with me.
Your writing is absolutely stunning. I love the visual and the romantic notion behind the perfect vacation that always seems just out of our grasp.
Thank you for your touching words! Means a lot!
Wow! Change of pace and then some! I hope you have had chance to sample more of the Caribbean than Jamaica – so many lovely islands – so little time..and then there’s the Central America that I love – on the Pacific side!
Yup – I can picture that slightly shy young teenager – wondering what to do with that blooming body – until she overcame the shyness and bloomed into a fantastic flaunter for all her fans!
So, did you like it?
The flaunter’er I shall be.
I absolutely loved this, and identified with you at every level, even to the senses. Thank you for sharing something so beautiful, my dear friend.
Thank you for reading. I’m so glad you enjoyed a little something different.
Many kisses.
Of course I liked it. See – you can reveal more without showing either face or bits!
…and the beauty of this little story – based upon truth or not – is – it touches a chord – above the waist – that I am sure rings a bell with pretty well all of your readers!
We’ve all been there – in similar circumstances – taking what vacations that parents’ limited budgets allowed us – and then – as parents ourselves – ensuring that our kids get the things we loved plus the things we missed out on – right?
Now – you can go back to being tease and flauntess supreme!
if dreams can be a reality, then i’ll be tempted to be sway by the waves and the beautiful sound of crashing into the shores…the breeze of the wind blowing into my face…what a wonderful vacation…bora bora? pappeettee?? if only one could actually feel it happen!
Beautiful my lovie!
Thank you my darlin!
I’ve lived so much of that. The muddy creeks, the dark waters of the lakes, and rivers, the saline divinity, the chaos in the cacophony of the crashing surf of my beloved ocean.
The “wasted” summer days with friends, dreaming about a drivers license and the girls we’d like to date.
To this day, though 30 some years have passed, the smell of salt air, the memory of the all encompassing sun, and several drivers licenses since, still set my heart to racing.
I thought I was the only one who felt like this.
Thank you for your lovely comment. It is nice knowing that someone “gets” you.
Welcome my new friend.