I remember when I was a child and summer seemed to last forever. I spent a lot of time watching TV and playing with the neighborhood kids. And every summer, my family would spend two weeks at my grandmother's house in North Carolina where my mother grew up. In fact, back then, summer seemed to last so long that I would get totally bored. Of course, those were the days before cable television, laptop computers, and video games.
When my kids were little, summer was fun. They would play in the sprinkler or in their inflatable pool (until their father blew it up with water dynamite!). They would go to camp at their daycare where every day promised a new adventure - swimming, bowling, video games, field trips - they were worn out by the time they got home. It was great - no homework to do, which was a break for me, too!
When the kids got a little older, summers meant summer reading lists. Summer reading lists meant I would harass them all summer about getting their books read. "Read a little at a time - don't wait until the last minute," i would nag, not that it ever worked. Many times, I would read their books before they did, and once they read them, we could discuss them.
When Jess was in 4th grade, she was finally diagnosed with ADD. I knew there was something going on, but didn't have the knowledge to pinpoint it. (That subject will have to be a future blog entry all on its own!) Thanks to an observant teacher, and then a psychologist, we found out what was going on. One thing I found out is that Jess learns better from hearing books read than from reading them herself. So, I would find some quiet time with her and I would read "doses" of the books to her. She remembered it so much better, plus we could talk about what happened.
Then in high school, my son did marching band and my daughter did Colorguard. So they each had band camp before school started. Plus, Colorguard practiced all through the summer. Louisiana is known for hot, humid, rainy summers, so that always made it fun!
As they each got to about 16 years old, then they discovered summer jobs. It was very cool to see them take responsibility for going to work whenever they were scheduled, and learning to manage their money. Spending money is a lot different when you think about how many hours you had to work for it. My daughter was the real go-getter - she would have two summer jobs.
In college, we made it clear that school came before jobs...that school was the primary job always. Come summer, we encouraged part-time jobs, especially if they wanted to go anywhere or do anything! Most of the time, Tyler had rotten luck. He would go on interviews and be told how wonderful he was. They would say that they will call him in a few days - if not, he should call then. And they wouldn't call. And he would call them. And he would be told that someone would call him back, but they never did.
Jess always had at least one summer job. And she is quickly learning that if you go everywhere and do everything, your account gets depleted fast. So right now, she is in the process of trying to rebuild her funds - for more summer adventures and for her first apartment in the fall.
Now that Tyler is a college graduate, he is already learning a harsh reality of being an adult. Each weekday during the summer, while the neighborhood kids are sleeping late and playing all day, he has to get up early and work for eight hours. Being a grownup is highly overrated!
No comments:
Post a Comment