It’s the last day of school for our family, and summer vacation has finally begun.  Because of some scheduling issues this summer, our usual flow of sporting activities will be very different.  My kids are all under age ten, and I’ve tried to help them choose summer activities they like without getting too over-scheduled.  You have to have some “Countrytime Lemonade” days in there, too.  You know, the kind where you run in the grass, watch clouds, and just don’t care what you do.  That’s just as important as passing your swimming lesson level for the year.

Instead of trying to work in the six weeks of softball, three weeks of soccer, golf, and day camps, we’re talking about one kid taking eight leisurely days with the grandparents while the others hang out at home.  A one day art event instead of a week-long enrichment program.  Two kids spending the week at the cousin’s and grandparent’s house.  I think if we just get in a little soccer for the youngest and one week of swimming lessons, we will be doing just fine.

Usually by now, I’ve already got the forms filled out and the checks sent off.  There are a million things to pick from, and everyone gets started shortly after school ends.  I’ll admit, I’ve avoided trying to figure out how this all goes around our other commitments.  I’ve put it off and tried to keep my head clear.  I used up my focus reserved for summer planning by getting other things lined up.

The by-product of this odd summer is a more relaxed expectation.  Some planned stuff is good, but too much feels a lot like the school year.  And in a summer that’s not typical anyway, why not take full advantage of the disruptions to encourage creative relaxing use of time?  The more I think about it, the more I like it.  It’s entirely possible they might miss some of their stand-by activities.  And you know, that might be OK.

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Viral Marketing (May 22, 2009)

    Last reviewed: 21 May 2009