I’m not ready for summer. There is no way summer recess starts next week for one kid and the following week for the other three kids. It’s not possible—I’m simply not ready. If you’d notify the school district and let them know if they could give me another month or so that would be great.
Not only am I unprepared for summer break, this year presents a unique challenge. Due to construction at multiple sites in our district summer break lasts from May 22nd through early September. FOUR MONTHS. Four months of excitement, outings, ball games, and whining about chores and playdates. Did you catch the beginning of that…four—FOUR—months. I don’t have my ducks in a row. I don’t have tutors in place for the kiddo who needs it, I don’t have chore lists created, haven’t registered for all the summer activities yet…I’m Not Ready.
But I so love summer with my kids. Grand plans are being made for one outing a week with one major outing a month. We are fortunate to live near a major metropolitan city as well as several amazing state and county parks. It’s the best of both worlds. We can go to the Art Museum of Minnesota one day and hike the waterfalls near our house the next. We’ve decided this is the year we actually do one outing a week versus our normal one a month.
But managing four children for four months is overwhelming. Summer classes that are required, summer classes for fun, driver’s education (EEK!), prepping for one kid to move to college across the country, two (or three) jobs for me, travel for my husband…the list goes on. And now…this extraverted introvert of a mom won’t have a quiet house to herself ever. (There’s a method to the madness of leaving me to fold all the laundry in the house. I hide in my bedroom and get my required, battery recharging alone time. Shhhh—don’t tell anyone!)
I simply can’t wrap my head around the long summer. Yet I know by the end of it, as school is back in session and that bus drives off with my little loves, I wonder where the long summer went. I’ll be ready for their classes to resume and be planning for the first break scheduled so we can do something fun together.
