Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Summerless

Ah, Summer. The time to work on your tan, read mindless novels, eat ripe fruit, sip on lemonade, and relax in the sun for 10 long weeks, right? Not if you have a small child at home and are transitioning from a school on a traditional calendar to one that uses a balanced one (which means starting school 2 weeks earlier than most).

Summer has never been my favorite season because, well, I am not a fan of 90 degree heat and sunburns, which I am very prone to. However, as a teacher (or a student, which was my experience for the 16 years before I became a teacher), you cannot help but learn to love those 10 weeks of freedom that comprise the summer holiday. You start looking forward to summer vacation as soon as spring break ends, and it is about the only thing that gets you through those atrocious final exam essays and graduation ceremonies.

Well, I have learned that the lazy days end as soon as your firstborn arrives. Last summer, my son was a 9-11 month old, and we moved, so when I wasn't packing or unpacking boxes, I was chasing after a crawler and childproofing the new house. I kept telling myself, "Don't worry. Next summer Sammy and you will have such fun. You will go to the zoo, the library, the pool, the park. It will be wonderful! It will be relaxing!" Well, every single part of my wish came true...except the last part. Sammy and I have had such fun this summer. We have gone to the zoo, the library, the pool, the park...and to Pump It Up and the Adventure Science Center and many more places. But the relaxing parts of my day only arrive when my adorable toddler is safely in his crib for nap or bed.

Summer is drawing to a close, and I am proud of myself for keeping my little man busy and entertained. We have been on the go almost every day. But I realized last week that I am tired. I just want one week of Sammy in daycare and me at home. One week to veg. out half the time and work on lesson plans the rest of the time. This is impossible, of course, because his daycare doesn't open back up until teachers report for work. So I have 5 days left of my summer "vacation," and I will keep myself energized with this one thought: Friday afternoon I have hired a sitter for four hours. I will get to have one last extremely miniature vacation before I face school once again.

No comments:

Post a Comment