Greener Grass
16 Jun 2009 11 Comments
in all about me, conversations
As I begin this post, typing on my couch, my girls are out in the backyard, digging in the dirt, observing worms, and playing an elaborate Harry Potter game on and around our swingset. We’re about halfway through the first book, but a lot of their friends have read them all, so they know all about Luna, Ginny, Lupin, and lots of characters we haven’t met yet. So far today, they’ve played with play-doh, listened to one of their parents read three chapters of HP aloud to them, watched a few episodes of their favorite shows, made themselves mini-pizzas for lunch, and now are playing outside. Many of their friends, however, are spending the day at summer camps or shuttled back and forth between summer activities.
Here’s what we’ve scheduled for them this summer: not much. Sure, they’re going on a trip to California with my mother-in-law. In July, we’ve signed them up for a month-long free program run by the school district, which will last all month, five days a week, three hours each morning. They’ll go to school, do activities and projects with different teachers from their school, and then I’ll pick them up around lunch time. We’ve joined a private pool for the first time, and we belong to the local zoo and science center, and we’ll probably go to some drop-in project days at our favorite art museum. My sister and I have big camping and hiking plans too, which will include the girls– we’d like to see as many as we can of Maryland’s highest mountains and waterfalls. But full-on summer camps? Nope. Not even the week-long kind we tried last year.
We’re trying to stay more on the frugal side this summer, as I suspect many of us are, and summer camps just didn’t make the budget– we chose the pool membership, but there wasn’t enough left over for lessons or teams or much else. I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about it, and sometimes conspicuous in our social circles lately, because a lot of their friends are much more scheduled this summer. But I also had a little moment recently that helped clear things up. I was in a group of mothers at the girls’ school, chatting about summer plans, and feeling vaguely awkward that my girls weren’t doing nature camp or ceramics camp or sleepaway camp or local private-school camps. I am working hard to get over it, but every now and then, I still have “keeping up with the Jones” twinges about stuff like this. But then the conversation turned, and a lot of the moms started saying how hard it is to struggle for childcare in the summer, and how they have to arrange carpools and make sure the camps come as close to overlapping as possible, but then they worry that their kids don’t get enough unstructured free time or with their friends, and on and on.
And I stood there, listening, realizing how worried they were about their kids and their jobs and their families and work-life balance, the same as I often am, and how the only one judging my kids’ summer “schedules” was me. And one of the moms turned to me and said, “You must be so glad to be a teacher right now, to get the whole summer off to spend with your girls.”
And I said, “Yeah, I really am.”
Jun 16, 2009 @ 22:44:35
OMG, I was at school today, and a mom asked me if I wanted her to take my daughter to the day camp that her kids are going to attend. Obviously, a lovely offer. But my first reaction? “Do you honestly think I waited till the last week of school to figure out what my kids are going to do all summer? I have to work, y’know!”
Much as I would love my kids’ summers to be a little bit less structured, it’s just not possible right now. I am very envious of your summer of ease.
Jun 16, 2009 @ 23:34:34
Our summer is mostly unstructured, too. It’s been nice.
That sounds like a nice school program for your girls. I certainly would have opted for that myself. We’re doing a few weeks of half-day camp for one kid, and one week of half-day camp for the other. I just really needed some childcare.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 03:44:58
Landismom, what a funny coincidence!
Anjali, I need the childcare too– I do a lot of prep work for the school year during the summer, but it’s entirely self-scheduled and flexible. I also have some writing projects I’m hoping to get done– I’m going to blog about that soon, I think.
Someday, I’m hoping that I’ll learn to just be content with what I have, and not constantly compare it to people I think are doing “better” than we are. Until then, there’s always blogging
.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 11:38:22
That summer schedule sounds idyllic.
Jun 17, 2009 @ 22:13:13
Elswhere– here’s hoping– I could sure use a good dose of idyllic.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 07:40:35
Summer is idyllic. Much about teaching during the school year is very un- family friendly compared with the greater flexibility I had in my previous career, but summer is soooo much better now than when I was scrambling for summer child care, most of which is such low quality that I wanted to scream.
Jun 19, 2009 @ 22:57:25
LSM, I’m sorry to hear that– my school is very family-friendly, but then, private schools have a lot more leeway over that kind of situation, I think. But I am very glad to hear you are enjoying your summers much more!
Jun 24, 2009 @ 11:10:34
we have a similar summer schedule. sam is doing the same kind of half day camp during July at his school (which costs a whopping $40), twice weekly free art classes at Creative Alliance for 8 weeks, and in August a 1 wk Audoban day camp at Patterson Park (half days–special rate for his school is $65 for the week!!) definitely a more frugal plan than the last two summers at lab! my only concern about unstructured time for sam is that it becomes sam on his own, since e is glued to his working his website all day. my time off (vacations and weekends) is our pool time, and we wilkl probably go to sesame place for 2 days in August.
Jun 25, 2009 @ 06:39:55
We just signed the girls up for something else, actually– twice-weekly tennis lessons at City College, $20 for four weeks! Those Creative Alliance classes sound awesome– is that through his school too?
It has been way too long since we’ve seen you guys!
Jun 25, 2009 @ 11:29:15
CA classes are not through his school, though only a few blocks away. Jasper took them 2 yrs ago and I have wanted Sam to go ever since. Would love to see you all.