The alarm went off this morning just after six. And my daily routine began: morning service, breakfast, drive kids to camp, work, pick up kids, work, dinner, hang with kids, and work.
Oh, how could I forget – ensure kids have done their summer work.
Yup, that’s pretty much my daily routine.
You know what that reminds me of? The rest of the year!
Remember when Summer was different? Remember when summer could not come fast enough and it could not stay for long enough?
What filled your summer days? My summer days changed over the years but all had an element of magic.
My boyhood Summers were full of languid days of stickball, baseball cards, and fireflies. Summer was simple.
Eventually, part time jobs – busboy, cashier, and stock boy – were part of my Summer. But so were swimming pools and late nights hanging out at friend’s houses. Summer was energy.
Then college ended and I traveled during the Summer going to the Middle East and Europe multiple times and there was time spent time out West. Summer was exploration.
Graduate school years brought more Summers of part time jobs and exploring New York City. Summer was wonder.
Then came the publishing industry and the marketing departments of Architectural and Engineering firms. Summer nights were for friends, dates, and destinations. Summer was socialization.
Finally, there were over ten years as a teacher, and summer meant a part-time job for extra money (if there is such a thing for the middle class). Summer was recuperation.
That brings us back to the present.
I killed Summer. Summer is mundane. It’s the workday grind. It’s the worries of a new business. It’s the concern about bills. It’s the lack of time.
Is Summer done? Are July and August just like February and March save for sweat and brown grass? Turn off the heater, and turn on the air conditioner.
Well, my family and I will go on vacation (budget permitting), the kids are in camp, and bedtime is more flexible. And Summer work is not the same as homework. So, there is some easing of the grind.
But…
I do miss the ease. I miss the feeling that Summer was one long day at the park. Possibilities existed, and if they arose, there was time to explore.
I know, I know. It’s responsibility and adulthood. Most people are in jobs that see little difference in terms of workload during the Summer. For me, however, this is a new phenomenon. I’m in my adjustment period. Don’t worry though – I’ll be fine.
It’s just I Killed Summer, and I miss it. Sighs.
P.S. Which way to the beach? Oh, never mind.
The laziness of summers vanished from my life early on. I was always training or working. Now that I’m writing, one would think the lazy summers would return, but as you point out, they don’t. There is always one more thing to do. But at least we can do it in warmer weather. 🙂
I still prefer summer in many ways. It’s just not nearly as big a gap as it once was.
Sometimes I think in summer I’m far less productive than during the cooler seasons… when I was younger it was the other way around. I guess I’m getting problems with the heat. 🙂
I love your article anyway, even if it’s almost too hot outside to read. LOL
With the heat, it’s easy to convince yourself to just relax inside. Energy gets sapped.
The biggest question is, do your kids experience summer the way you used to experience it?
I think if your kids’ summers are the way your summers used to be, when you were a kid, you are incredibly well.
Summer homework?
We have lazy summers, but we don’t do anything.
P.S. – What do you think of getting rid of summer vacation?
We give our kids summer work. Nothing crazy. We want them to keep up their skills and work on some challenges.
My kids summers is not quite the same. We spent way more time just hanging out at home with friends. No parents!
Anyway, from an educators standpoint, I think summer vacation is way too long. I would change the calendar so that there is never more than one month off.
I worry that far too many of us get this. My summers have been the same as the rest of the year since going independent more than a decade ago. But the same was true of my corporate career that came before. Sadly.
I console myself with the fact that my kids had somewhat more of the typical childhood summers we once knew, but with so much more complexity in a family split by divorce.
Yeah, it’s cool that the kids get to enjoy a summer and vicariously, I feel it too.
It drives my husband crazy that we all get a summer schedule and he’s at work like normal.
(But I think maybe a week home alone with the kids might readjust his feelings on the matter.)
It might, but I bet it would take till at least Wednesday!
My summers growing up weren’t like that, but with three kids and two working parents, camps and classes were the way to go! Hopefully I’ve raised Mr. T that we can have fun all year long, as what we do in the summer, we do in the fall and winter, too. Fun, random day trips, pajama days and days on the lake, it’s like the phrase “build a life you don’t need a vacation from”, that’s my goal! So then I won’t feel bad if I’ve killed summer 🙂
I keep trying to resuscitate summer because every year I miss the days of my youth with the same fervor as if it was yesterday.
I hear you completely. Ditto.