Summer Please!!

We are ready for summer! It is almost the end of May and we are still going through the motions of studying in the mornings and hosting our weekly homeschool co-op. What is up with that?

It's sympathy. I think. For the second year in a row, we have had a child in our house who is stuck on a school schedule. Last year Mohamad and Mason. This year Mason. Poor guys.

It is guilt that keeps us pretending at this time.

Still. We can start summering around here, can't we?

Truth is, there isn't much difference between our summers and the rest of the year. We tend to think in seasons as far as how we spend our days. So..Austen will continue reading. Cody will continue computing and transmissioning (is that a word?) because that is what they want to do.

What will really change? Cody will spend more hours working. Austen will begin working on his gyrocopter. There will be summer camps. Music camp for Austen and soccer camp for Cody. Mason will spend 10 days in Costa Rica.

Most importantly,the guilt will be gone. Everyone will go to bed later because Mason will not have school in the morning. There will be no co-ops to prepare for. Today is the last day!

We will spend a lot more time at the Boys and Girls Club because Austen is lifeguarding . All three boys are in a mentoring program (and applying for a summer work program..we'll see). We'll eat more dinners at a reasonable hour because my work schedule will change.

So how are we preparing for this almost non-change. The change is in the more subtle things.

Food for starters. Devin and Austen are practicing making the "perfect fruit smoothies". Since we tend to live off of fruit smoothies and bagels on summer mornings. (As opposed to muffins and hot-chocolate in the winter..and "fend for yourself " in the Fall and Spring). There will always be a pitcher of tea or lemonade.

We start putting away all our pants. Jeans, sweats, khaki's..it doesn't matter. Just keep one pair of dress pants because we live in the South and still have to dress up occasionally. We put away our boots and tennis shoes. We replace this milder weather attire with our swimsuits, tank-tops (the guys..I'm just not a tank-top kinda girl), t-shirts, sandals and sunglasses. Gotta have the sunglasses!

We will smell like sunsceen and aloe. We clear a spot on the deck railing for wet towels and swim-sutits. We purchase lots of citronela candles for the porch and deck. We will go to the movies more often. We go to the grocery store and stock up on gatorades, bagel-bites, chex mix, granola bars and fruit galore..things the boys can just munch on between swimming and working.

I am counting down the days.