Mid-Summer Joys and Agonies

Published July 1978

By Terri Andersen
Mid-summer! A time of mixed emotions. On the one hand it’s freedom from having to get the kids ready for school, bright sunny days, fun at the beach, warm temperatures, soothing breezes, the trees all in bloom, flower gardens, fresh vegetables, and a leisurely pace. On the other hand there's the feeling of time passing too quickly and knowing that the leaves are already beginning their process of changing. I want to hold back the calendar and make summer stand still for at least another month so I can catch up to it.
Every year when June rolls around and summer is just beginning, it seems there will be plenty of time to do all the things I want to get done. Why one month should make such a difference, I don't know but by the end of July I find I have to give up any ideas I had of creating the neighborhood’s most beautiful flower garden (especially since I didn't even get started yet), and I have to face the fact that the vegetables I planted late are not going to mature overnight. Down the drain are going all my beginnings-of-the-summer resolutions: to get all 33 windows washed; to paint the trim on the front of the house; to finish that Sundress I started last summer; to spend more quality time with the kids; to get a fantastic suntan; to fill the freezer with home-grown vegetables and fruits, etc. Where, oh where is the time going? - For the kids, mid-summer is a mixture of joy and agony too. ...joy in the knowledge they don’t have to go to school, agony in the fact that boredom is setting in and they don't know what to do with their free time. A friend asked me recently, what's worse than a bored 12year old at a cabin in the woods? My answer? A bored nine- and ten-year old who pick on each other all day to pass the time. (Oh, my frazzled nerves!) In June I thought I had plenty of projects planned for the kids to keep them busy through the summer. Now it’s “I’ve got nothing to do, Mom. I’m bored.” How about this, that and the other that were such great ideas in June?” I don’t feel like doing that.” (Applies to any suggestion whatsoever.) How about all the chores that need doing around the house and yard? (Surest way to make the kids disappear for at least an hour.)
 As to the boy in the next yard, they could never see enough of during the school year: “Why don't you go play with Johnny?” I ask. “We’re not talking to each other anymore, Mom.” Or it’s “If you'd buy me that game, Mom, I’ll be kept busy for the rest of the summer.” If you fall for that trap, about ten minutes later it’s “I’m bored, Mom. There's nothing to do.” What about your new game? “Oh, I'm tired of that. It’s not as great as I expected.” But hope springs eternal, doesn't it? Therefore during the month of August I’m determined to renew resolution number 4–to spend more quality time with the kids. There's still Steep Rock Park, Mt. Tom Park, the Historical Museum, a few trips to the library (so conveniently close to an ice cream parlor), White Memorial, etc. Now if my energy just holds out. . . . .