FROM WHERE I SIT  Nostalgia...The Cherry On Top  JULY 14, 2013  Pat Spilseth

Oh, what a morning!  This is the idyllic summer I dream about when I’m freezing in January: the lake is calm; the breeze is balmy and our resident loon is floating in the Bay.  There’s no noisy boat traffic churning the water or racing wave runners.  Only the gentle lapping of waves and birds singing breaks the silence of early morning.  It’s pure joy to be alive.

It’s terrific to have my family together again here on the lake this July.  Kate has vacation from teaching in Mexico City, and we love to float on the lake in Andy’s boat, the Roamer.  Kate’s friends, visiting from Mexico, China and Baltimore can’t get enough of the lake, and I know they also enjoy our ample supply of big, blonde Scandinavian men!  Visiting friends from Italy add spice to our evening with talk of Italy and the delicious dishes they share.  Summer breezes cool us as the sunset spreads lovely colors in the sky while we float on the lake.

For me, summer is the best season on the lake. When our grown kids return home, I can’t help but recall those good times in the summer when they were small.  We’d spend lazy, sultry days sitting on the dock.  I’d stuff their chubby arms into plastic, blow-up water wings, and they’d run and jump into the lake and into my arms from the dock.  From the start, they were water babies.

Good times we experience often brings on bouts of nostalgia.  Smells, scenes, songs, even photos touch each of us.  

Though fall is usually the time of year when people tend to feel nostalgic, I’m nostalgic today, enjoying this summer with returning kids and friends.  Nostalgia can be even stronger in the fall when brown and orange leaves fall through the air; the weather is crisp; the school year is about to begin all over again; and I start remembering my school days and people from the past.  It’s a melancholic time of year, cozy and comforting when I light a fire in the fireplace, curl up in an afghan with a good book and read.   It brings back memories of people no longer young, except in my mind.  There they remain, the same age as when I spent time with them in earlier years.

Naturally, gathering friends brings to mind times when we were younger and carefree.  Nostalgia enters our minds.  Did you know there are clubs, websites and publications dedicated to nostalgia and collectibles?  In a recent New York Times article, “What Is Nostalgia Good For?” author John Tierney wrote, “Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety.  It makes people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders.  Couples feel closer and look happier when they’re sharing nostalgic memories.  On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer.”

When I see my Kate and Andy, now grown-up, leading interesting, happy lives, I can’t help but smile.  It feels so good to see them together, with our family, and remember all the adventures we’ve shared through the many years.  That’s nostalgia...the good part.  I remember our family riding camels in Egypt when Kate turned 13, and she got the crazy idea to dye her hair red for Christmas.  She didn’t realize she’d used permanent hair color!   And nine year old Andy chose to ride a horse instead of the tall, spitting camel, out to the pyramids.  His was a run-away horse which took off into the desert with Andy holding on for dear life.  Passing us in the Arabian dessert were horsemen with flowing robes on galloping steeds heading out to colorful Ramadan tents erected in the vast desert.  

Since Dave was an airline pilot, we were able to fly to whatever destinationsTWA or American Airlines flew.   In Belgium, they loved the Brussels bird market, and Andy was fascinated by the statue of the little boy, “the Pisser”.  Kate devoured Brussels’  favorite waffle fries dripping with mayonnaise.  

Nostalgia comes from the Greek nostos meaning homecoming and aigo meaning ache or pain.  Current researchers studying nostalgia have discovered that it’s a global experience which can be used to enrich the present.   Topics are reminiscences about friends and family members, holidays, weddings, songs, sunsets, lakes.  There’s a Twitter chat every Sunday night at 10EST called #nostalgiachat, which talks about summer camp to favorite toys to old tech. Nostalgia is the mental equivalent of comfort food, soothing in times of stress, usually making us feel better.

It’s not just reliving the past, but thinking about how those events affect us today.  Music may bring on nostalgia, the scent of a certain perfume or the smell of chocolate chip cookies just like Mom baked.  You may recall romantic hayrides or sitting around a campfire.  Certain places may have you reeling in memories of good times.  Strolls down the memory lane of your mind may not always be entirely pleasant, but overall the benefits outweigh the negatives. 851 words