SOMWaD Summer

Summer...the time when we slow down and enjoy so many things.  The weather is warm so we can go outside and relax in a lawn chair, perhaps with an adult beverage.  We can go for a relaxing swim at the pool or the beach.  The air smells like suntan lotion and is full of the sounds of children.

That's the theory at least.  For this SOMWad this summer is just as crazy as the school year.  My calendar is crammed and I have to keep checking it because I *think* I have time to do "x" or "y" only to remember that I've already got "z" scheduled.  (If you don't know what a SOMWaD is, you need to read  http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2015/07/somwad.html)

I free admit that I overbooked this summer.  I wanted to keep my son busy.  I know that the last two weeks of "summer vacation" there is nothing to do.  All the camps and summer programs have concluded as the counselors have headed back to college.  I knew that time would be the down time/family time (aka "I'm bored" time). Hence I plotted and planned to keep him entertained (and educated) from the time school let out.  I don't know how the SOMWaD's with multiple children handle it because here is what I scheduled for the summer:

• Week 0 - 1:  School lets out.  Family lunch to celebrate.  Off to PA the next day (Saturday) to meet up with the in laws.  They take the boy off to Gettysburg for 3 days for historical fun.  He gets back mid-week so he has some time to have friends over.

• Week 2:  Off to the NJ shore to stay with my parents and a week at Marine Science Camp.  Since the 4th falls on a Saturday, I get Friday off at work, so hubby and I had to the shore EARLY on Friday for the holiday week; surprising our son.

• Week 3:  Hubby and I head home, the boy stays at the shore with my parents for a week of day camp on Barnegat Bay.

• Weeks 4 & 5:  Bring the boy home on Sunday afternoon from the shore.  He will spend the next two weeks going to YMCA day camp in town.  (Ok, the school that the camp is being held in is technically the next town over.)  Unlike the previous day camps which are only about 5 hours, this is a full day (fuller than even a school day).  There are morning classes (beginning at 8:30) and afternoon (ending at).  Then there is after care, which allows me to pick him up at 5:45.  (I have already changed my work schedule for these two weeks and I can't be at work at 8:30 AND have him there at the same time).  So he will be "at camp" from 8:30ish to 6ish, which is a long day for a kid! (And one of the reasons why I chose NOT to enroll him in the pre-care which begins at 8 in the morning.  The other reason is the cost, which isn't that bad, but...)

• Week 6:  From Sunday afternoon to Saturday morning he's at sleep away camp.  He's done this before and enjoyed it.  (Camping is not my cup of tea.)  It's very rustic, which means the cabins consist of 4 bunk beds, two dressers, a cot for the counselor, and a hanging light.  That's it!   

• Week 7:  This is the boy's birthday week.  He'll be home (with his dad) and have the week "free."  Although I have promised that on his actual birthday (which I will take as a vacation day), we will head to the Lego Store.  He would also like a birthday party.  (It is after all a "big" birthday; he will mark a decade of existence!)  He knows our family finances are tight.  (Full disclosure:  all of the camps and programs that he is attending over the summer are partially financed by his grandparents.  One of the reasons we haven't done a full family vacation in several years is that we can't afford it.  We have done some short little trips, but a full week is out of our range for the time being.)  He has asked that he and his two best friends go to a movie together to celebrate.  Not much to ask for, but even trying to get these three together on a Saturday in summer is a challenge.  I'm still planning this one out and hoping that it flies.

• Week 8:  Back to sleep away camp.  This is the last week camp is offered; and it's only the middle of August.

• Week 9:  Back to the shore for one last week of Marine Science Camp, which this year has an extended schedule which thrilled me as there are no other programs going on at this time.

• Weeks 10 & 11:  Nothing at all.  No camps; no programs.  Hopefully some of this time home will be prepping for school. (Our school starts before Labor Day this year; which is a first for our district as far as I can remember.  Technically week 11 is only 1/2 a week.)  I hate putting off school supply shopping till this week, but we may have to since we have yet to get a supply list.  (As a true SOMWaD, I have been known to shop for fall supplies as soon as school lets out for summer.  I check all the circulars and see where the best buys are for items on the list.  Since my son is going to middle school in the fall, we haven't gotten the teacher assignment yet or any supply list.  But I keep checking the school website!)

If you've read all of the above, your head is probably spinning!  And remember I only have one kid! (I know of many SOMWaDs who are juggling multiple plans for multiple children!  My hat’s off to them!)

Of course there's also the summer running around that I have to do for/with my husband (doctor appointments, the mass house clean up where we are getting rid of all the "stuff" that we haven't used in years and perhaps even a day long camp reunion in upstate NY).  As a SOMWaD, I also keep an eye on my parents (even while they keep an eye on my son) and run down to the shore on as many weekends as I can.  (I LOVE the NJ shore and really do relax when I am there and while the drive down may not be too bad because I go before dawn on Saturday mornings, the drive back definitely adds to my stress level!)  And then there's the "usual" stuff that needs to get done and doesn't go away just because it's summer time.  

The summer slowdown I once wrote about (and experienced) is no longer a reality to this SOMWaD!  At least not this summer...of course there's always next year!