now but that was not always the case. When the kids were little my friend Tara and I would count down the days until school was out….to see how many more days of freedom we had left. We would make glorious plans for the month of May only to realize the month of May is consumed with end of the year parties/picnics/ceremonies/bus rides, etc. Then the dreaded day would come. Backpacks would be flung in th closet and the adventure for them would begin. When they were toddlers a bowl and some cups would make them happy but now that they had been out in the world they had higher expectations. I would awaken with the realization that for the next three months I would be expected to be Julie McCoy, Cruise Director. The first few years I bought into the theory that the first days out of school were ones to be celebrated. Zoo trips, picnics, pool parties…yee hah schools out. The problem with that theory was that if I started out the summer as one big party by August I was out of money and ideas. August is a very long month. It has 31 days…that’s a lot of days to fill with little kids. Heck, that’s a lot of days to fill with grown-ups. It is hot and humid. August is what made me choose school bus yellow as my favorite color and the back of my children heads as they entered the bus my new favorite photo. Like I said August is a very long month.

It got easier as the years passed. They got older and could make their own cereal. I convinced Michael that waking a sleeping mother by putting your face as close to hers as possible was dangerous to my health as well as his and a rested mother was a happy mother. This took a grand total of three years. After the first year he stopped with the heart attack move but progressed to using my bathroom , having the dog jump on my bed and my favorite…getting in bed with me and sighing loudly every ten seconds until I opened my eyes. If he wasn’t so darned cute I would be serving 25 to life as we speak.

I learned that the best approach was to start out the summer as the tough as nails mom and gradually ease up as summer went by. I drew up contracts to communicate summer chores and expectations. We would not be leaving the house until rooms and the kitchen were in order. By starting out like summer was a military camp they were tickled pink in August to do anything. Mission accomplished.

Now they are older. They sleep until 11:00 and don’t get really active until three. They hang out with friends, we can watch the same movies and like the same music. Not that I didn’t love Veggie Tales but one can only tolerate singing cucumbers for so long. Soon they will be gone in the summers. I will awaken when I chose and I will have to call them and beg them to make plans with me. So right now is the perfect time. We are all on the same wave length. We are one with sleeping late and staying up late and I am in totally in love with summer.