By Mimi Sorrentino, January 29, 2019 — Growing up, we had a concrete patio with a metal awning. That was our deck, and we had a few lawn chairs out on the patio. Because the houses in our neighborhood were so close to each other, all of the backyards just ran together. Our neighbors would come over after dinnertime in the summer. We would sit on the patio because it was so hot, and none of us had air conditioning in our houses. The patio was pretty shady. My mom would always make a cold pitcher of iced tea or lemonade for us. Everyone would just sit around and talk. Us kids would run around and play until it got dark. We would play kickball, ride bikes, or jump rope. My parents would sometimes put up a badminton net in our backyard. My mom was actually really good. Life was just simpler back then. There was only school, work, and home. Everything was more fun and more special because we didn’t have very much. I wish things were still like that for you guys.
