Summer is coming. And as each year comes and goes, one thing remains the same: The last few weeks of school are so difficult as summer plans begin to take shape, gain anticipation, and just become a much more desired time of year than the one we're in right now. The grass is always greener, you know?
As the children get older, their involvement in summer programs will increase. There are the old faithfuls to pencil into the calendar: swim lessons, family vacation, art camp, some sort of sport camp. As my interest in getting the kids involved in more and more programs grew, my method of organization began to dwindle. An iPhone calendar is great, but it isn't the best for a BIG PICTURE glance at what's going on. So the time came to go back to the old fashioned method: queue the giant refrigerator calendar.
You'll notice this only represents May, and it's already filling up (and the photo is a little out of focus, but Nealy added a few events of her own at the bottom of the calendar). There is a week in July that Jacks will be scuttled around town at a breakneck speed in order to reach all of his destinations, and there are some days in June that I'll need reinforcements in order to get Jacks to one place, Nealy to another, all while I'm trying to complete a 3 day meeting for work. Joe will be very busy on my behalf (which he usually is - sweet husband).
And this calendar only shows the actual events that we will be planning to attend. This does not include the house projects that we are planning. (on the agenda this summer? de-cluttering the basement.....again.)
So, why is it that we count down until summer days when the summer is just as hectic as the year? I guess it's because I have the great privilege of being a working mother who gets to play a stay-at-home for a few months a year. And I so look forward to my one chance each year to play that part.
And right now, we have one more thing to possibly look forward to: a longer summer. Our state has decided to implement legislation to dictate when the school year can begin and end while still mandating students attend 180 days of school. The issue on the table is to begin later in August and still end before Memorial Day. This is only about a week or two off of what we do now, but that means that some holidays throughout the year will be shaved off a bit and minutes in the day will be beefed up a bit. I know if and when this happens, we will all have very conflicted feelings about having less time with family at the holidays, more federal holidays spent at school, and a few extra minutes in the classroom each afternoon.....but right now? I can't believe we will actually have a little bit of August to enjoy! We are so used to hitting the skids come August 1st because summer is basically over (we usually get back to it in that first week or so), even though the dog days have arrived and the best activity for the dog days is sitting still in a pool, not sitting still in a classroom.
So what does all this mean for us? All of our activities come to an abrupt halt at the end of July, mostly because summer programs have been designed to wrap up before the start of school, which was originally going to be early August. But now, it could be mid-August. A tiny difference, but it might mean that we'll get a little bit of down time before the beginning of the school year. And right now, despite all the negative aspects of this possible legislation, that down time sounds like a little slice of heaven.
But who knows? It might not happen.....
One things WILL, however, happen come August. My oldest child will be starting Kindergarten. I will be talking about this later, as I am not ready to face the reality of my child growing up into a big boy. But this will be a major topic as the time grows closer. Be still my heart.....
Until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment