I wonder if it's something in the air (or water) up here in the Pacific NW but in addition to having to live without spring and having to endure a 4 week summer, I also have to hear many of my friends tell me how ready they are for summer vacation, or, more specifically, how eager they are for their children to be out of school. While I like to think I've acclimated quite well to the life up here (my hair is several shades darker and I look pallid quite effortlessly), I can't help but stare in blank bewilderment when I hear this.
True, I too am happy about a later start in the morning and avoiding the commute to school (camp is in the neighborhood and starts at nine), and I won't miss the hour I spend at night chaperoning homework, but I am at a total loss when they say things like, "Oh, I'm just looking forward to loooong, lazy summer days," or "I don't even know if I'm putting my kids IN camp this year; I may just let them hang around."
Lazy days? Hang around? Just thinking about weeks of unstructured bedlam in my house makes me panic. I can count on my hands the number of days we'll have this summer when we wake up in the morning wondering what to do with the entire day. Frankly, I can count it on one hand.
Is it my children? Quite possibly. The boys especially seem to have more energy than some of their friends, and most sports turn into tackle versions of the game (e.g., tackle basketball, tackle soccer..), so lazy days are never just that and quite often end up with me applying hefty amounts of ice packs and band aids. And we usually do spend the long, late afternoons of summer doing our fair share of hanging around. But given that the summer amusements of choice in this house include: constructing latrines in the front yard, building small fires on the side of the house, filling the baby pool with mud, sticks and water once the girls are already in it, and suspending large outdoor toys (slides, etc) from the deck using twine and dental floss, I would rather be shot than have to do a whole summer of it.
I'll slow my work schedule down a bit (and I only work when they're not around), I'll keep lemonade on tap, and assuming the sun comes out for more than 5 minutes, they'll be trips to the lake and beach towels hanging over the railings of the deck for weeks on end. But let the inmates run the asylum? Never.
