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Challenge: Summer Fun

Finding the Beauty in School Summer Vacation Moments

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Here we go again with my kids being off for a whole summer!

That’s right, my kids will be starting yet another long summer vacation and it is game on for this mom to keep them entertained all day long.

My kids being kids will be most likely bouncing off the walls, even before the ink dries on their report cards, by wanting to play outdoors immediately upon returning home, since it is summer and warm weather is the norm, as well as from the candy that they will each received after another school party to celebrate the impending vacation.

Yet this mom knows the reality of these long school summer vacations, which throw her whole schedule daily for out the window, especially her work from home schedule.

See the school day hours are for me to get my work done. But during the prolonged school summer vacations, the ease and routine of this work day schedule goes right out the window.

However, there still is so much beauty in the moments that comprise this school vacation time, even though it might not be ideal for moms like me that work from home and there really isn’t any escaping it anyways.

But how exactly do we embrace the beauty in school summer vacations?

  1. Attempts of even entertaining the notion to sleep in will all but have been thwarted for this mama as the kids, who seem to battle me on school mornings to drag their lazy bums out of bed, will now suddenly up with the birds just because they can be! However, we will more than happily lazily cuddle watching cartoons just because we can.
  2. Thank god that Trix are indeed for kids as that lovable bunny will save me from actually cooking breakfast for my little minions to be on a more laid back morning schedule. Actually meal time, in general, will be more or less relaxed with more snacking taking center stage for all.
  3. Wardrobe changes for my wannabe princesses are just as abundant and plentiful, as if they are really and truly royalty from the first clothing selection of the day to the very last one, making for more unwanted laundry to pile up. And yet, the fashion shows have been downright entertaining.
  4. No matter how many toys that we have in duplicate, the fights will be on and more tears will be shed over this than Tammy Faye Baker did in her prime. Somehow, though we will fight through these less than stellar moments to find more peaceful ones, as well.
  5. iPad usage will mist certainly be on the rise and at the very least keep this mom from pulling her hair (grays and all) out of her head to have even 5 minutes of peace and quiet during the dog day hot summer afternoons in air conditioned heaven. Still, I must admit to smiling as my girls sing and giggle their way through another rendition of Meghan Trainor’s, “All About the Bass”.
  6. Yet, Mother Nature has taken some pity on us after the brutal winter she forced down our throats and has thankfully still give us time to enjoy some outdoor fun with new bikes getting a proper workout. Summer is most definitely here, which leads to the #7.
  7. Since the temperatures will rise above 80 degrees, my kids will now dress like they are vacationing in the Caribbean all while channeling their best Bob Marley impressions by donning leggings, socks, sneakers and baring legs for all while wearing their best short shorts and itsy, briny bikinis, too. Reminding me that these are the times to savor as we usher in the warmer weather.
  8. Some light Summer cleaning will commence with winter apparel finally being put on ice for next year, with me wanting to throw a party to celebrate or at least crack open a bottle of wine. Warmer weather and a glass of wine can never be bad thing!
  9. Our calendars will soon become full to the brim with not being short on entertainment by any means to keep us quite busy, thankfully making the days go by quite fast even in the most crazy, whiny moments (these are plentiful as girls do whine best). Still, as fast moving as these days will go, we still have so many memories that we have made to last us a lifetime.
  10. Bedtime, what bedtime? Even once they find their way to bed, my girls will have a gab feast complete with singing their favorite Frozen show tunes and more to make me feel like I am getting a nightly concert for free. Still, I wish this would tire them out to not still want to once again be up with the birds like #1 all over again tomorrow! Still, listening to them happy and content at the end of these vacation days, somehow puts a smile on my face making it most definitely all worth it.

Yet, for all the craziness, important memories are being made during the grand and small instances of our school summer vacations.

See someday just as many have told me, I know I will certainly miss this time where we can spend all of our precious school vacation days together celebrating it all, even the most imperfect moments and as crazy as it sounds actually long for it as it is a much needed break from our daily grind.

So, I relish the beauty in school summer vacation with my kids, because I can simply be with them.

Moms, how do you deal with your kids’ school summer vacations?

A version of this article originally appeared on Confessions of A Mommyaholic, Find more from Janine, also, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.



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