Summer Vacation

For a perpetual control freak, summer does not conjure up feelings of joy for me. I am typically relieved that the spring semester is over, but summer means transition and plans heavily tied to a weather forecast.

I have this wonderful vision of carefree kids enjoying the perks of summer. To Jared, that means swimming and ice cream every day. To Jacob, it means nonstop time on the DS.

Is there a guidebook out there for moms to create carefree summer experiences for kids? Is it OK if I let Jacob play the DS for 10 hours a day (my instincts scream a huge NO! here, so he's probably out of luck).

Do I simply agree to cool the yard and quit bugging them to shut the front door? How many times should we go to the pool? When should we do errands? How do you arrange quality play dates when most of their friends are in day camps because their parents work? How much unstructured time is good? There is a difference between unstructured and unscheduled. And then, they bug me to death to play the Wii, DS or be on the computer.


I remember some adventures from my summers. There are things we did at grandma's house that I would probably faint even imaging one of my boys doing. How do you find the balance between protecting them and letting them grow up and have some non-mother-approved fun?

And, who is the nut who says summer is fun and relaxing? Hmph!