A warm sunny day in the early 80s was a day that made you wake up happy. It would be a fun relaxing day no matter what you did. There was always plenty to do. Discovering the woods or revisiting an area watching dragonflies or butterflies, even the tiniest ants … everything was mesmerizing.

Growing up, we would spend most days outside mainly but occasionally indoors. We loved to do just about anything for fun. Can you remember what your fondest memories of an 80s summer day were?

The days were a blessing, and it seem that time back then moved at a much, much slower pace. And we sure made the most of it. Those days flew by, but somehow in a more relaxed way. Nothing since has compared to growing up in the 80s. We looked forward to everyday with anticipation. Easily catching jars full of bumblebees … then setting them free. What fun it was learning to fish perfecting your casting and then enjoying lake trout cooked to perfection.

Typically, if we woke up early and once we finished breakfast, my friends and I would meet up outside and naturally fall into some type of game or adventurous activity effortlessly. Be it frisbee, football or baseball catch, tag, freeze tag … whatever, it was summer. That meant no school and we could find any fun that was there to be found. And, there would always be tons to do. Running through the sprinklers; or doing a quick chore maybe. Time flew as fast as a humming bird.

Either in the yard, biking, or in the woods. I remember that one of my favorite games in those days was “What time is it Mr. Fox?” I had enough neighbors that were fun to play with which meant more fun all around … especially for games, or biking … or apple wars.

We could make an adventure our of virtually any that we could imagine. Blue skies all around. Summer fun was just beginning. Nothing was better. It would be a great time — running, biking playing games — We loved it all.

Being outside was the norm because that’s where most of the fun was, especially after a long snowy winters. Blowing bubbles, running races, taking wagon rides. Eating the first strawberries of the summer — what great memories. Everyday was a gift.

Summer in the 80s seemed to be a time of relaxing fun. Those days were incredibly memorable. Living in a rural are of the Copper Country back then, during the 1980s was exciting. The wildlife, the clean air, the sounds of nature. Everything seemed so peaceful. And my parents made my life feel like Heaven.

We would race around our house outside and find plenty to do. It was nearly impossible to sit idly around. Besides random games, biking, or fishing, we would play a LOT of baseball. That was a favorite of ours. It was easy to do. We had a big enough family to make the games real exciting. Dusk would often arrive too quickly.

Baseball made living in the country a lot more fun. Our front yard was perfect for a game with its thick green grass. Games would be a highlight of a summer day for sure. Learning everything there was to learn. Each day improving. Learning to bat, learning to catch. Learning to field, and how to run the bases. Those days produced a lifetime of memories. In my mind, the 80s was a decade of fun.

Now if it were a rainy day, and we had plenty of those, we would end up staying inside for the day. But then we got to o play indoor games — marathon Monopoly sessions would literally last all day or even continue into the next day occasionally. We’d stack playing cards and build card towers. There were plenty of other board games to play.

We had this amazing electric race car track set that was super entertaining. We could do that for hours even on a cold rainy day. Those are fun memories, too.

We could find enjoyment inside during rainy times. We would play a lot of made-up games too. Our imaginations led to lots of memorable times. The activities we created on the spur of the moment were sometimes the most exciting. Eventually taking a day entirely focused on one made up game.

We rarely watched TV back then. We had more exciting things to do than sitting inside watching a TV show. The only real morning we may have watched TV was early on Saturday mornings maybe for a hour or so. The exception being that we were all glued to the tube watching the Detroit Tigers win the 1984 World Series. That was a memory of a lifetime. Especially since we all relished playing baseball.

Warm weather was the best part of our summer. No time was wasted. Summer vacation from school went by too fast. Every hour; we made them all count.

Life in the 80s was exciting for sure. Especially being a young kid. Another favorite outdoor game we played was called “500.” And, we generally used one of those gigantic big rubber balls you can still find today for sale. It was a challenging game, as we all could catch, be fast, and were competitive.

If we got hungry we’d run into our backyard either for a drink or something right out of the garden to eat. Our favorite were carrots and peas. We had a few sugar plum trees too. Those were absolutely one of my favorite treats.

We had tree forts on all sides of our yard. It was an endless array of choices. There was no boredom growing up in the 1980s. Especially living in the Copper Country.

With the winter weather hitting us lately, I find the best way to warm up is to remember those amazing summer days, swing sets, wooden picnic tables and my mom brining us lunch outside and, on really hot days, spraying us with the garden hose.

I feel so blessed to have grown up when and where I did. Those days gave me lifetime memories. Nothing better.