T-Minus 2 Weeks and Counting
My kids are officially out of school as of June 15th. They actually have fewer than that if you consider the half days, field trips, field/picnic day and the fact that they are not even paying attention anymore because it is so close to THE END. I remember this time of year, for me, was always a mix of euphoria and sadness. Euphoria at the fact that the summer was coming and it would be long and great and NO SCHOOL. The sadness was from leaving my friends, knowing the summer was going to be long and NO SCHOOL in which to see them.
My mother did not DO playdates. We did not DO sleepovers. The only way you were going to see a friend - was by accident. We didn't even go to but a few random Birthday Parties in the summer. It just was NOT done. You played with the kids in your neighborhood - whether you liked them, ever would hang out with them, or not. Sounds sad, right?
We didn't have a pool. We didn't even have a Slip'n Slide. And GOD FORBID you turned on the hose - my father would have been out there screaming to "TURN THE GOD DAMN WATER OFF!" He even went so far as to tell me and my sister that there were spiders in the hose to get us not to drink out of the hose. Imagine my embarrassment, newly-married to DH and outside on a real scorcher, when he bends down to take a long slurp from the hose and I yell, "OH MY GOD - Don't drink from there - there are SPIDERS in there!!!!!" Oh hell yes, he LAUGHED! I remember him saying something along the lines of, "You're a smart girl - how in the world do you think the spiders were going to live in there with the rushing water pushing them out?" Whatever. It sounded completely plausible when I was a kid.
Both of my parents worked - so we didn't get to go to Mall, the movies or any other fun thing in the summer. We did however, get to play a few houses down at a woman's house who did in-house babysitting, which was great as there were ALWAYS kids to play with.
Summer is not the same for kids anymore. Summer is filled with Summer Camps, pools, playdates and sports. My two aren't even outside for 1 hour before they are begging to "go somewhere" or "do something" as if it is my sole purpose in life to grant their every wish. What am I a freaking Jeanie? (I could NEVER pull off the outfit) I am taking every Friday off for the summer - so we can plan to go places at least once a week. That's the glory of owning your own business. We are going to Disney - again - this year. Please God no repeat sicknesses for Lil Man. Remember the puking and shitting of the bed????? We have a big beautiful pool to lounge in every day after I finish my work day which should be 2 or 3 o'clock. Will they be happy with that? Not freaking likely!
So I find myself with the same feeling about summer that I had as a kid - euphoria and sadness. I will be euphoric to NOT have the ridiculous crazy schedule and hustle and bustle of the school year. (Although they WILL have Mandatory Summer Reading AND Math Sheets - I can't even IMAGINE if I had homework that they COLLECT on the first day of school, over the summer!) I know I will be happy to spend time with them - laugh with them. But there will be a sadness that I am losing my nice quiet, peaceful home that I coveted all year alone in my office with no interruptions.
Am I the only one thinking it is going to be a LONG summer? What kinds of cool things do you do with your kids to keep away the boredom?
posted by Sharpie @ 6:30 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Monday is the last day of school here! I'm actually excited though. The library reading program starts mid-june and that's one of our favs. Plus we will be going to pool a lot. There's a few 'vacations' to their grandma's, The start of Soccer season, and of course..the all important can't live without 'Family Fun' magazine. THAT is one of the few ways we survive summer w/out going nuts and boredom.
A few years ago, I got sick of summer being spent rushing around. My kids run through the sprinkler, play in pool, dribble popsicles all over the yard, and torment each other. That's not to say that we don't do other things, but most days are just spend playing around the house.
Sharpie, when I was a kid, it was the same way!!! I shudder to think what would have happened had we demanded my mom take us to the mall.... I'm sure there would have been fly swatters on legs and asses...
My kids, thank God, are old enough to go do what they want. All I have to do is make a million dollars this summer to pay for it all...
I am taking them to the beach for a week. and to my brother's house in georgia for a week. He has a giant pool...
other than that, they are on their own...
I know, I remember those boring ASS summers, where we stayed home and watched more soap operas than I care to mention. Just remember that your kids being off means more visits from me and my brood...kapeche???
We get out on the 15th, too. The beginning of the summer is filled with camps and travel. The end of the summer is wide open. :-)
And yes, I make my kids do school work all summer.
I grew up in a small town, so nowhere was to far to walk or ride a bike when I was a kid. Luckily, I liked all the neighbor kids that were around my age and we played every day from sun up 'til sun down, outside. If it rained, we'd play with the worms and the water collecting by the curb, burn our feet on hot driveways playing crack tag, build forts out of picnic tables and create a new 'club' every week. I also spent a great deal of time at our local library and the town's swimming pool. I loved the summer when I was a kid.
As for nowadays, thankfully our neighbors behind us have 3 girls and my stepdaughter plays with them all of the time. We live in a small town now, too.
*too far, not to far...geesh
I could have written Wendy's comment! Mine are all quite young, so I don't have too hard of a time.
They play in the yard, out in the medow, up in the woods (all a fenced part of our farm). We have a huge kiddie pool and a sprinkler, two regular swings and a tyre swing, plus there's a stunning array of wee playthings - those plastic houses and slides that go in your yard - that I've pulled out of the dump and cleaned up for them.
Even my 3 year old knows never to tell me she's bored. If you're bored I give you something to clean. ;)
We are actually very fortunate here that we have a camp that my daughter loves.
4 days a week (TheWife is home on Fridays), they take her somewhere almost every day. A lake one day, an indoor pool (rainy days), trips, etc. For 4 days a week, she goes SOMEWHERE, virtually every day.
She actually likes it so much she was begging to add the 5th day rather than doing things with Mom on Fridays.
It seemed a bit expensive when we first signed her up for it, but between gas and tolls, and admission fees and so on, it turned out we were actually saving money having her go to camp, rather than having to take her somewhere every day.
(In case it is not clear, this is a day camp, where she returns home everyday, I... er... she is not ready for a sleep-a-way camp... at least not yet.)
OK, mandatory summer reading and math sheets? Spare me. Give the kids a freakin' break. I'm all for keeping the skills up, but mandatory? Good lord...
It was much the same at my house, though my mom would leave us notes like this:
Girlies,
I'm at the links. (golf course)
Please do the following:
* Weed front bushes for one hour
* Polish silver for one hour
* Empty dishwasher
* Wash two double hung windows
* Have fun!
Home about 3 pm.
Love, Mom
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