Here we are at the beginning of summer vacation! I always feel a bit weird about the transition from working mom to unemployed stay-at-home mom. Don't get me wrong! I am celebrating the fact that for 2 1/2 months the only schedule I will keep is the one of my own making. And I have lots of lists of things that should get done during this time. And I don't plan to sleep in and be lazy.
Still, that last day of school is always ... just weird. It is like I have two different lives and the moment they intersect is a moment of fission. It is a jittery, antsy feeling. It only lasts a day or two, then I settle down into my new life just fine.
The last week of school is always hard on everyone. Not academically, of course! Good grief! There are no academics on the last week of school. In fact, the jr. high and high school pretty much told the students not to bother coming on the last day. Not officially, of course. But that was the message everyone I talked to was getting loud and clear from both schools. It is hard because no one is really there mentally. The kids at school are hyper and hard to manage. Good students get rowdy. The students who are generally misbehaved get nasty, on occasion. The kids at home won't go to bed on time, don't get up on time, and just would rather stay home.
My school held our dance festival on that last day. The weather was just beautiful and the dances were cute! The dance festival was originally supposed to happen on the Thursday of the week prior, but our weather this spring has been shockingly cold and wet, so it was moved in the hopes that June weather would be more gentle. It worked!
I wasn't in charge of anything for the dance festival, so I just stood near the sound equipment tent and delivered late students to their classes out on the field.
I have a funny end-of-year story for you.
Friday was the last day of school. Wednesday, neither of my kids were predisposed to go to school. No one wanted to wake up or get moving. It took a lot of nagging to get first Helena out the door (after her school had actually already started). It took about the same amount to get Will out the door, too. As he and I were loading up in the car (I drop him off on my way to work and he was making me late) 5 minutes AFTER his school had started, I glance out to the street in time to see MY EXPEDITION go driving past the house! Helena.
Hm.
I called her. No answer. So, I detoured on my way to Will's school just to check a theory that she was driving to a friend's house. Nope. After I dropped off Will, I called her again. This time she answered and meekly listened to me chew her out and assured me that she was on her way back to school.
Essentially, she decided it was just too nice outside to waste her day in a classroom, and she wanted to go home and lay out in the sun. She waited until she THOUGHT I'd be gone, and tried to drive home. But, of course, Will made me late leaving and she got busted.
Oops.
I was really infuriated that morning... about until lunch time. That's when I decided to tell the story to my friends and co-workers, who all had a great laugh over it.
I am not thrilled that my daughter was trying to be sneaky and dishonest. Far from it. We had a talk about personal integrity that night. But, it is kinda funny, in a sitcom kind of way.
Anyways. Will didn't go to school on Thursday, because it was 9th grade Lagoon day (local amusement park) and he and his best friend didn't want to go to Lagoon. I know! Weird, right?! But who am I to force my kid to go to an amusement park and shell out the money when he doesn't want to? So, the two boys just spent the day together doing other stuff. Neither of my kids went to school on Friday and I was home by 1:00.
And so, summer begins.
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