Vacation's Over

Life can be so ironic at any given time.   It says that because circumstances dictate a situation, they should also dictate how you feel about it and how you respond.  Life says, "You're hungry," so you go eat a big bag of potato chips.  The bag is now empty, so you should be full, right?  But you're not.  If anything, you're hungrier than ever.  Life says, You've got a million dollars in the bank so you should be happy," but you buy everything you can imagine and you're still left empty.  Life says, "It's summer vacation," so you should relax, sit back, and be carefree.

Only for me, summer vacation has been all but that.  It's about taking children to the park and letting them run free and make new friends; it's about making sure they are safe around whoever else is hanging out at the park.  It's about keeping my eye on children that are going in four different directions at any given time.  Summer vacation is about swimming and splashing in the water!  It's about making sure everyone keeps on their floaties and that nobody jumps in the deep end.  It's about staying up late and sleeping in!  It's a time of vigilance, where I have to stay on my toes every waking moment, and there are a lot of them.  It's about struggling to keep my eyes open when everyone has their own sleeping schedule and I can't fall asleep because at least one person is awake for all but 2 hours of the day.

I think that anyone with children can testify to the fact that, for a parent, summer vacation is one of life's little ironies in that we work harder then than at any other time of the year.  And the longer it continues, the more interesting our lives become because the children start to get restless.  Why is that?  Summer is a time of wild abandonment...shouldn't they be content?  But after a while, summer vacation stops being fun, even for the kids.  Why is that?

The children have all this free time to roam, so why are they discontent?  It's because total absence of organization becomes unsettling.  They miss the consistency of school.  Some of them actually, gasp, they miss the learning!  They miss the scheduled routine.  They miss knowing that they have to be in the class at exactly 7:45 or they will receive a tardy mark.  They wouldn't admit it, and I don't even think they realize the crux of the matter lies in the knowledge that every single little action has a consequence.

Children get frightened when there are no guidelines, because they instinctively know deep inside that it is these rules that keep them safe.  Though they may buck and fuss and moan about the strict regime at times, they understand subconsciously that without rules and regulations, all would be chaotic.  In school there is little room for tolerance or leniency when it comes to the black and white rules of conduct.  Are you disrespectful?  Warning, principal's office, suspension.  Too talkative?  Parent-teacher conference.   Go too long without paying your lunch tab?  No soup for you!  Didn't do yourwork?  Don't pass the class.

And, I confess, I like my routine when the kids are in school.  I never thought I would say that.  Growing up I was going to be the do all homeschooling mommy who also kept the perfect house and entertained guests night and day.  I certainly had all the skills.  I enjoy teaching, I love children, and I am very much a people person.  That's all I need, right?  WRONG.  Notice I mentioned nothing about my great organizational housekeeping skills.  That's because they don't come naturally at all, not one iota.  But I discovered something last year, when Nyssa and Nathaniel started the public school system.  I suddenly had time to start learning how to get this house cleaned up.

I'm not all there by a long shot, and I don't have all the rules down pat yet, but I am learning.  I'm in the school of life, and I am enjoying it.  When the house is messy and cluttered, it's chaotic and I can't focus well.  Things get skewed, and it's easier to wade deeper and deeper, and it gets harder to clean.  I get depressed because I'm in this hole that I've helped dig myself into and I can't get out because the rules that help me get it straightened up just flew out the window when that last bell rang in May.  In fact, as much as I hate to say it, the house stays sub par and I can't get a foot hold to climb out because I'm constantly cleaning up the last mess that would not have happened if I DID have this place in ship shape condition.  I'm ready to climb out now, and I need the schedule.  I need the consistency.  I need to learn the rules and to follow them.  Summer vacation is over.  Thank God!