Summertime and the Living is Easy....

I love summer. For two years, I was a camp counselor and I realized that this was the life: 9 months in the city, 3 months in the mountains.

Then I grew up.

Now I love summer because our schedule is relaxed. No homework. No projects due tomorrow. No bedtimes--for the kids, anyway. Hubs and I still have to work! But, still, the longer daylight makes it feel like we have more time. And since all my favorite TV shows are in re-runs, I'm not hooked on the tube.

Hubs and I both feel that summer is a chance for the kids to learn skills not necessarily taught in school. We've never insisted they get summer jobs--at least, not until they graduated from high school. Instead, they've gone to camp, on summer cruise, river rafting, spent time with their grandparents, gone to Japan. They've signed up for the summer reading program at the library, gone to Day Camp and then come back as counselors. We've gone on family camping trips where we've hiked, poked around ghost towns, participated in Pioneer Days, caught fish, and biked. They've taken swimming lessons and worked on craft projects they designed. They stay up late and sleep in. They play video and computer games on their own or with friends.

The results? Well, this summer, DS#1 is teaching at the "College for Kids" program offered at the local community college. DD#1 is a counselor at Girl Scout camp--for pay! Hubs and DS#2 just came back from Boy Scout camp and DS#2 is going back up in two weeks for the Counselor-in-Training program. DD#2 has been swimming, riding her bike around town, reading, and waiting for Girl Scout Day Camp to start, since I did not sign her up for summer camp. (Spring was busy this year!). And we're hosting a Boy Scout and a Girl Scout from Japan, which means, I suppose, we'll have to do some housework around here! DS#2 is also practicing cooking dinner entrees, since DD#1 is going to college this fall.

There is plenty of time to earn money. There is not enough time to be a kid. Summer gives them some of their childhood back. Even the big ones, like me!