Summer is always a weird time for us, and even more so now! After many really hard summers, last year I finally had Stevie’s schedule in a place that we both really enjoyed. Once school ended he had 2 weeks off, then 5 weeks of summer school, 2 weeks of swim camp, and finally 3 more weeks off of everything. I’d like to say that those last few weeks were his chill time, but we all know there’s no such thing. It’s become an absolute necessity to keep Stevie busy during the summer. That’s just the environment he thrives most in. When there are no plans and no distractions, he becomes really difficult to parent. Those few weeks where he has no school and no camp are when I go into survival mode. I still try to make it fun, but I go in knowing it’s a tough crowd.
So of course, diving head first into summer this year is making me feel all kinds of ways. On one hand, I’m excited to have time off school without new assignments to worry about. But on the other hand, that’s just more time I need to fill for Stevie each day. I am dreading distance learning summer school, and yet still grateful for it so I have a little guidance with curriculum. We are both really bummed that swim camp is canceled, but maybe it will be nice to have extra slow mornings. Though extra slow mornings mean extra long days, and I’m just already so freaking tired. We will have lots of time to hang out and do whatever we want… but there’s nothing that we both want to do. And nowhere to go really.
So ya know. It’s a mixed bag. I guess the same way it’s been for the last 2 months. Not much will change, except it will get hotter and my patience will get thinner. But I know we’ll survive because we’ve got 100% survival rate so far. We’ll figure it out, even if we’re driving each other nuts in the process and the days drag on like there’s no tomorrow.
I, at the very least, wanted to start summer off on the right foot. That meant one of our favorite traditions. I usually pack up Stevie, Fergus, and some In-N-Out cheeseburgers and make the trek to Santa Monica. There’s a little park right near LAX where we love to sit in the cool grass and feel that west side breeze. We eat our cheeseburgers and watch dozens and dozens of planes come in right over our heads and land not far away. The planes are so close and so loud, that it’s actually quite thrilling.
This past weekend, the traffic was clear and Paul had some free time, so off we went. It looked a little different this time — only 3 planes came in, and we ate homemade sandwiches in the car. But it was still a fun way to break up the monotony of being safe at home. Plus there was no traffic, and the added company of my husband was really nice. Not a shabby start to our never-ending summer.
What are you doing to keep busy this summer?
loves,
jaana