The Onset of Whats Called Summer "Vacation"

As a child, I remember thinking about summer. It usually went along with the word "vacation" or "break."

Interesting.

At a park group I frequent I overheard one of  the other moms, who happens to be British, talking about how here in the US, we do this totally crazy thing: three months with kids out of school in the summer.

It really got me thinking. Already, with only one child ending preschool this week, beginning his "summer break," I'm wondering what tricks, gimmicks, scheduling lineups etc, will help us make it through the days of the week of what as a child I called 'Vacation." You might say that this "Vacation" already has me shivering in my boots!"

Now I understand the springtime days when my mom and dad would have lots of closed door meetings with piles of camp/summer school/civic center class offering booklets. They went in with a pads and paper for list making, and emerged later to tell us about some of the great offerings our summer would provide. It seemed interesting, at the time, that they would go through all that effort, and money, to enrich our summertime. Now I understand what a very real motivation might have been. With ten kids flooding the house for the summer, it might, perhaps, have been at least a little bit more that partially: survival.

Preschool graduation is tomorrow. Up until this time I've been enjoying three mornings a week with babies peacefully napping and Cupcake as my happy helper/cuddling partner. We've read, tidied up and baked. Its been a major staple of sanity for me. And don't get me wrong. SA is a very good boy. But it's been really wonderful for C, especially in the year post birth of the babies you can imagine that she's had some vulnerable moments. 

I don't want to sound dramatic, but in some ways, the added weekly excitement at home, of summer "vacation" leaves a person singing mercy please.

Of course I know what I need to do. The Sunday School answers are: head to the craft store and stock up. Buy the slip n slide from Target. Get out the Popsicle molds. Order more ladybugs. Buy worms for the kids to poke and hopefully not suck on. Find my edible art kid cookbook, get out the calendar and start with brick and mortar at the foundation to schedule in some weekly mainstay adventures. I already do lots anyway. It won't be too hard.

Its just that on this particular day in time, this morning, a Thursday morning of a kind of unseasonably rainy June, I woke up a little bit tired. (Imagine that.) Thinking, as I realized there were no plans yet for the day, (kiss of death for an otherwise perfectly good day with four itty bitties that like fun and structure) that a spa weekend might sound nice, in lieu of anything involved with planning summer "vacation."

And that's why it was nice to receive a text from a friend with a surprise great idea of her making: a little day trip to the botanical gardens. She was right about her plans. It was a great idea! So so much fun. Even though we had to ditch the double and carry the babies, someone helped me, and the day turned out to hold an unexpected delight, which was time for the sweet group of indulgences pictured in this post.

And lets just say it helped remind me that Summer Vacation might just be super fun!