Time off...I spend the last two months of school anticipating summer vacation. Freedom. Sleeping in. Staying up late. Swimming. At the beginning of May, a running list of everything I want to do begins to form in my head. Clean the car. Clean the house. Go through closets. And then it is June.
June is spent taking naps. Taking it easy. Putting off what needs to be done in order to relax and restore myself. I haul my briefcase to my library on the last day of school and throw it down. It won't be touched until August. June is usually our first camping trip. We try to get to a pool at least once in June, but the weather is usually too unpredictable to go. My son and I dance a dance of synchronization, aligning ourselves with one another after a hectic school year. We sit on the porch. We lay in the chaise lounges. We ride our bikes in circles in the middle of the day.
And then there's July! Time for another camping trip, hitting the swimming pools, picnics in the park. It's too hot to lay outside or ride our bikes in the middle of the day. July is a month of frenzied activity. We clean our closets and the basement, readying ourselves for another busy year. We take daytrips to see grandparents or go to museums. Of course, there's a movie or two to be seen. Naps are no longer a priority; we are rested and have energy! By the end of July, we're buying school supplies and some clothing for the two of us as we realize how little time we have left of summer. There are a multitude of errands, doctor and dentist appointments, and taking care of yearly obligations. July ends too quickly for us.
The beginning of August marks another round of birthday season for us. Family get-togethers. Numerous questions about when we return to school. We bid summer a sad farewell. We grow weepy and anxious about the upcoming school year. I have multiple nightmares about my new students and the new year. My son grows anxiously quiet. The lists we made at the beginning of summer are complete, or nearly so, giving us time to do a few last fun activities before our time is constrained within the confines of a schedule.
We sit on the porch. We watch the birds. We read books or play silly games. We laugh. We relish the time the two of us have with one another, knowing how precious and valued it is. Thoughts of summer sustain us during the tougher months of January and February, where we begin to plan, just a little, our next summer vacation.
