When Does My Summer Vacation Start?

I have deceived myself. Somehow, I let myself believe that summer vacation would lead to more free time. Not for my kids, but for myself. I was foolish and I admit it.

True, I don’t have to worry about making sure the boys did their homework. I don’t need to prepare uniforms and lunches for the next day. I can actually sleep in a little on my days off because I don’t need to get them to school in the morning. However, none of this took up that much time in my day when you really add it up. So I don’t have more free time, I just have less responsibility.

And come to think of it, less responsibility only serves to make me lazy when I do have free time. I tend to spend my free time now either sleeping or sitting on my couch sweating. The most ambitious I seem to get is playing free cell on my iPhone.

When I had to take the kids to school on my days off, I would tend to stay up. As I explained once before, I have what my brother refers to as sleep inertia. Once I’m awake, I want to stay awake. That would result in productive days. I’d write a lot and stay up to date on my blog posts.

Now I skip several days at a time. I think the quality of my postings has suffered as well. I have a good one every few days, but I often find myself typing random thoughts frantically (like I am right now) just so I can post something without proofreading it before midnight and technically have a post for the day.

I had all these plans. With all the free time this summer, we’re going to take road trips. We’ll go to the museums and the zoo. We’ll spend days at a time fishing. maybe we’ll take in a baseball game.

I set myself up for disappointment.

While my kids get to play all day and have the kind of epic backyard adventures that are still some of the most intense times I’ve had in my life (and I don’t think that’s sad at all), I’m at work. And every minute I’m there, I’m completely aware that they are home, living it up.

Work seems to take that much longer this way. Yet there’s nothing I can do about it. Nobody is going to accept me coming in late or leaving early because, “Hey, boss, it’s summer vacation!”

I really need to become a teacher. Just for the summers off. I think I’d go running out of the school more excited than any of the students on that last day of class for the year. I’d even cheat to be the first one out the door.

“Now class, sit tight for a second or two after the bell because I think the principal was going to make an announcement.”

(RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!)

“Suckers!”

With that, I’d be out the classroom door and running down the hall, my tie and shirt probably left on the floor behind me. Should any poor youngster cross my path, a hip check into the lockers would be in order. I’d have to pass on my urge to stand over him afterward and rub it in, though. Not because it wouldn’t be professional, but because it’s summer vacation.

When I hear talk of schools wanting to shift away from giving kids three months off in the summer, I get sick. Worse, some schools are actually doing this now. I think it’s a crime. Summer vacation is one of the most exciting times of childhood. To take that from our youth should actually be considered robbery. School administrators should be arrested and prosecuted if they even express interest in such an idea.

Although I suppose it would prepare students better for adulthood. It would get them used to doing the same crappy thing over and over every day and not looking forward to something awesome at the end of it.

But let’s give them a little extra time to learn that lesson. Viva summer vacation!