Back to School

August 1st hits and with it the realization that school starts soon. I. Hate. It.
Ugh! I really don’t like when school starts and my kids are forced back into that homework-going-to-bed-early grind of the school year. I much prefer the comparatively lazy days of summer.

Granted, as the girls got older, there were more schedules in our summer than when they were pre-schoolers but even with their various sporting events which made us stick to a schedule throughout the summer months, it was much more relaxed than during the school year.

I’m one of only a few moms I know who actually enjoy their kids being home. I like hearing them in the house and running out the door (and back in again sometimes within 5 minutes). I like having them underfoot and, while other mothers are counting down the days till school starts, I start counting the days till the end of school on the very first day.

My youngest is a senior in high school this year and, after all the summer breaks we’ve shared, I am fortunate not to have heard “I’m bored” hundreds of times throughout the summer. I haven’t heard that phrase from either of my kids more than a handful of times. Seriously.

And, it’s not cause we go on countless vacations throughout the summer. They don’t attend one camp after another after another. Actually, our summer “entertainment”, if you will, consists mostly of afternoons spent at the local swimming pool. We do get our money’s worth from the fee we pay to join the pool each summer but, I feel it’s money well spent when you can come away from a summer without having to hear how bored your kids are.

I’m fortunate that my kids have always been good at entertaining themselves. And we spent time together. They never sat in front of the TV for endless hours a day. They don’t while away the hours in front of a computer or playing video games. They read, they bike, they jump on the trampoline, they play with friends, they swim. And yes, they are happy kids. (Most of the time.)

So, every year when August rolls around, I dread that first day of school and, as the days whittle away, I wish more and more that summer could be endless and we could just continue in our summer pattern for at least a few more months.

However, I do have to say, I won’t miss the 90 plus days filled with humidity. So, I guess there is something to be said for fall. The weather.