End of School

Summer vacation is upon us, hard as that may be to believe. TRC and DC are through with fourth grade and kindergarten, respectively. I had a chance to see their report cards yesterday when they came home, and they were both stellar. This isn’t really intended as a bragging post or anything, but I also felt like I had to note how, despite all the other stuff that goes on in my life all the time, much of my life is made much simpler by having children who are so well-behaved and well-intentioned.

Both kids have gotten quite a few requests for play dates over the summer, and while we’re quite territorial about our kids (we’d rather they spend time with us at home than out gallivanting about town with other people), it’s flattering to know they’re in hot demand.

I feel like a lot of the credit for this honestly goes to TRC. He’s a great example to his siblings. A kid who genuinely wants to make good decisions. That makes a huge difference in a family, I think. (Though I recognize that I’m still learning the ropes when it comes to older kids. He’s only 10, after all. I keep hearing the “just wait until they’re teenagers” line, and I watch my kids with some apprehension, dreading the day when suddenly they don’t want to be helpful anymore. When they start being “teens” and stop being my kids. At the same time, I can’t help but think that’s not how it works. It’s not like they wake up one morning, magically turned into monsters. Everyone warned us as new parents that our children wouldn’t sleep through the night for six months, or a year, or more. And yet out kids slept through the night by 6 or 8 weeks, all of them. What I mean to say is that it seems each person speaks from his or her own experience. I respect that experience (especially when I have none of own), but I also recognize that hard and fast rules for one person might turn out to be based on a very small sample size, and that should be taken into account when listening to the advice in question.)

In any case, my children are still great kids, and I hope they remain such for years to come.

We had a cookout last night to celebrate (and watched the USA/Ghana soccer match for some extra pizzazz). The kids (all three of them) are enrolled in the summer reading program, and they’re busily making their way through books. Also on the agenda this summer? Trips to Utah, swim lessons, tennis lessons, a few hikes, late nights, and plenty of wasted time. Because a summer without time where you’re just sitting around doing nothing at all is no summer in my book.

Of course, as an adult, I don’t get summer vacation. But I can at least live vicariously through my kids. That’s what they’re there for, right?

So bring on summer, because the sooner it’s done, the sooner fall and winter come back. 🙂