Summer Plans

I really should know better, shouldn’t I? I make plans and God nods sympathetically, then lets me know what is really going to happen.

I had planned to continue to school through the summer. We’ve always done this. By not having a typical summer vacation we can take time off from school at any time. Grandparents visiting? No problem. Disney vacation scheduled? Got it covered. Also – having definite summer plans sure does cut down on the sibling bickering and I’m all over that!

And I kind of slept all last year, what with being pregnant and all. School was not high on anyone’s priority when mom was falling asleep by 10 am and there were Star Wars action figure battles to be waged.

My plan was a good one – keep going through summer as always, doubling up when we could to make up for lost time, take time off for our church’s version of VBS and for Boy Scout camp.

Two things I didn’t count on. First- Pumpkin Girl’s dance workshops. When she saw her studio’s offerings for the summer, she wanted to do each one. Ballet workshop, Broadway workshop (featuring selections for “Annie”), worship dance workshop – what’s not to love? She’s going to be dancing every day, almost all day, for 5 weeks. I might be able to sneak a little school in here and there, but not much. And because I teach her and Boo both using the same level curriculum (Sonlight Core 4 or E or whatever we’re calling it now), there’s no school for Boo either. Not that he minds. In fact, when he reads this – and he will, curses on whoever taught him how to use the internet. Oh wait, that was me. Where was I? Oh yes, when Boo reads this, he needs to go thank his sister for giving him such a grand summer vacation. He should probably offer to do her chores while she’s off dancing.

So that’s 5 weeks of school I’d planned on that we’re not going to be doing. Oh wait, only 4. One of those dance weeks overlaps Scout Camp.

The other thing I didn’t plan on? Pipsqueak. Oh, my little Pipsqueak! Double chinned, big cheeked, gummy smile Pipsqueak. He has decided that he has to be in physical contact with a parent, preferably me, at all times. All times. I love that little guy, but he wears me out. If he’d just nurse and sleep while I read aloud, we’d be fine. But no. He wants me all to himself, in the quiet sanctity of our bedroom. Them other people – let ’em fend for themselves. We’re doing the best we can, trying to let him nap in quiet, then cram as much school as we can during his waking hours before he realizes that I’m not holding him. It’s not going real well.

And tonight…the other children took off mid-afternoon to play with their friends. Public schools have already let out for the summer here, and it was downright hot today, so the neighborhood children were out in force. They had some sort of water weapon battle that lasted way past dinner time. At 7:30 I finally stuck my head out and asked my crew if they were planning on eating dinner that night.

Such nice weather, so many adventures to be had. Dinner could wait, apparently. I totally get that.

I think I need to let go of my expectations. I need to sit down and figure out what I can do to let everyone have a peaceful, happy, fun summer.

This summer will only happen once. We need to make the best of it.

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