Endless Summer Vacaation

Today I went to my son's school and watched him get his Kindergarten Diploma. Then I got to join him for a picnic outdoors. And now I am waiting--counting the minutes really--until I can go get him from school FOR THE LAST TIME.

I was so excited I could not sleep last night. I could have gone back to bed after he left but . . . Nope! Too excited!

I am done with getting up every morning at 6 am, especially in the winter time. (Although it was kind of nice seeing the sunrise on a daily basis. ) I am done with running out to the convenience store at 3 am because I am out of bread or peanut butter. I am done trying to figure out how to pack things in a lunch that will not spoil by lunch time.

No longer will every morning be a race to get ready before the bus comes. No more threats of "Eat your breakfast or go to school hungry!"

We will relax and take it easy. We will get up when we please. I will once again have my hour of morning quiet time during which I can drink coffee, exercise, blog, or veg out. We will take trips as the whim strikes us, and go to the museums during the week when they are not crowded. We will hit the beach after Labor Day and and go sledding when the snow is fresh.

I still plan to cover all the bases of proper education. We will of course work on reading, penmanship, math, and so on. But we will be doing it our way. We will be reading real books we enjoy, not some processed textbook crap. Science class is going to consist of planting things and making a nature notebook, and it will over lap with drawing. Drawing will over lap with history, which is going to start with prehistoric animals. Which of course over laps with science.

Can I tell you how excited I am right now? When I was a kid, summer vacation meant lots of free time, but it also meant wonderful trips with my family, children's theater, carnivals and circuses and nature hikes and girl scout camp and lots of educational activities. I always joined the summer reading club at the library and spent countless hours up a tree with a book. I devoted God-knows-how-many hours to my hobbies and 4-H projects. When I was 15, I volunteered to help out with my church youth group, and wound up running the office. Summer was not just a time to relax, but a time to indulge all my hobbies and interests.

I am now thinking of this moment as the start of an endless summer vacation.

Let's kick it off with some ice cream.