Five zillion summers in—okay, not quite that, but plenty—I should know, at a cellular level, that summer equals loads of transitions. We are past the school-to-summer one and comfortably enough into the Younger-Group-to-Middle-Group one. Last week, Lucien spent the mornings doing pottery. Remy spent the days cavorting and learning about the Valley courtesy of Biocitizen (think, hikes, scampering over rocks, examining bugs and plants, and eating local ice cream). Only Ezekiel is ensconced in one place for much of the summer: Paintbox Theatre (do you have or can you borrow young kids to see Rapunzel this week? If so, you should do, for your sake and the kids’ as well).
This week, after the day-off Fourth, Lucien began DASAC (also known as the Deerfield Academy Summer Arts Camp) and Remy spent the hot, sweaty, fun afternoon playing tennis with the recreation department’s program.
Put another way: last week, kids were underfoot afternoons. This week, one kid might go to Sunnyside whilst the other’s at home and then Sunnyside ends and tennis begins. The house will not be empty. I have to open to the sweetness of serial one-kid-home time (or, two at home) rather than the vague feeling of I-need-some-total-alone-time. It’s a few days. Then, the schedule changes again.
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If I weren’t working regardless of their being at home, would I feel differently about summer? I am thinking probably the answer is yes. I’m not one hundred percent sure, though.
I do know this: I’m perfectly happy to have a kid at home play tennis against the barn door or swing or cut a piece of paper into a tiny pile of paper scraps or play Yahtzee against himself or “read” books. Benign neglect, you’ve got my back.
Boredom, or not really boredom so much as figuring out what to do when activities are not handed to you is a really important thing lost to many children these days. I actually believe that even more than I am unable to muster the energy to dream up activities for my children constantly they may benefit more from that time doing nothing in particular than any range of activities of my creation or otherwise more formally organized.
Plus, I’m working (from home).
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Amongst the other things that are going to ensure this summer’s happiness are my Tuesday Market trips with camera in tow, the USA network (I am not kidding: White Collar, In Plain Sight, Royal Pains, Necessary Roughness—taping them all on my DVR), Paintbox Theatre (I am one of those adults glad to see the shows), the continuation of the Great House Declutter (found, a positive pregnancy test stuffed in the bathroom cupboard under the sink along with travel-sized toiletries, seriously—from when I don’t know—and a $100 traveler’s check) and the arc toward better bedtimes for the little gal (not so much last night).
