Surprise it's Summer

It was suggested to me to write an article this month on how to deal with the transition from the school year to summer vacation. But I can’t.  My brain is still trying to recover from spring break and now its summer? It’s like June just raced up and bit me in the butt like my Grandmother’s old poodle Alfie. I am wholly unprepared.

I did manage to sign my kids up for summer camps but when I lay out their clothes the night before I keep laying out long sleeve shirts and pants, even though it’s warm enough for shorts. My son’s birthday is June 29th and I haven’t even sent out invites yet. And I better do that today since tomorrow is the last day of school!

What’s my problem? It’s called freedom. With my 3 in school I have exactly 2 hours and 35 minutes of alone time every day and I need it, I cherish it. This is the time of day where I can run errands kid free or I can just sit and watch my shows on T.V.  But it’s MY time!! And I earned every minute of this personal time.

A few years ago I had 3 kids all under the age of 3 and all in diapers. Before I could leave the house they all needed to be fed, the youngest still on the breast, and then they needed to be changed, and then all strapped into their car seats. By the time I got behind the wheel I was sweating and panting. I worked so hard to keep them alive to now the ages of 6, 7, and 8 years old, and have resisted the urge to check myself into the “quiet place”. I think that deserves some kind of reward, besides the obvious healthy children.

I was smart enough to coordinate some of the camps to be at the same time as my youngest’s summer school. But I need to find a camp for him when his extended school year ends, a camp for children with Autism, which is not cheap or readily available. I want all 3 of my kids to enjoy the fun of summer camp and just the lazy days of summer. And I will enjoy the family moments in the sun.

But please forgive me while I count down the days until the first day of school and my hard won freedom.