Summertime Summertime Sumsumsummertime

by mcmama | More from this Blogger

30 May 2006 07:46 PM

What are you doing for summer?

The answer to this question has been planned by many parents since January. Summer camps often have their registration in the winter, and their spaces fill up quickly. Sports clinics also have their registration in winter and spring - either they fill, or if there is not enough interest, they are cancelled.

Then there are the special programs - the orchestra camps complete with concert schedule for six weeks, the day camps that function as daycare, the honors courses for bright students. Summer can be exhausting! Oh, and teens often learn to drive and find work and want to visit friends....and then there are family vacations. When the family can get a whole vacation together, that is.

This is the first year I am not looking at a totally booked up summer. My last child at home is 15, and will not be 16 until the end of August. This does not make him very employable around here, where most of the decent jobs go to students age 16 and older. The music camp he has gone to for the past few years is not offered this year. He won't be eligible for the special "governor's school" program that he was interested in until next summer. He wants a break from sports.

Well, there are lawns to mow, scholarships to apply for, colleges to visit. There are friends to visit too - when they are in town. He is only doing two scheduled things this summer - one week at an "intense activity based" high school Christian camp, one week in Appalachia (with me) repairing houses for our church ministry. Two weeks doing various things with his dad, still TBA. A week visiting a friend and going sailing with him.

Let's see...Two weeks at camp, two weeks with Dad, a week with the friend, two weeks looking at colleges - that makes 7 weeks.

Gosh. Where did the summer go already?

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I am a mother of two sons, and a former NYC substitute teacher.

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