My husband can always tell when I am on overload because
I cling more compulsively to my tattered three-ring binder. It is an ugly thing, but it has served me
faithfully for several years as Calendar Command Central and repository of all
papers-deemed-important. Yeah, yeah, I
use Google Calendar, too, but only because those little reminder pings on my
phone make me feel important. But, this
binder ….. ah, it has the power of a pacifier AND a personality supplement
while creating the illusion of control. Very nice.
Well, summer has arrived and my binder bears coffee rings
almost as dark as the circles under my eyes.
There is something deeply warped about a life where summer presents more challenges
than a school year for a homeschool mom.
With motion discomfort bags tucked discreetly in my purse ….
it begins:
John: After yet another 4.0 semester at Penn, he will move into an apartment in NYC next week. He will be working at two different start-up companies in Manhattan. As soon as he finishes his projects there, he gets on a plane for Moscow where he will spend the first semester of his junior year ! We are all so proud of this guy ....
Nora: After
returning from Hungary, she got a job at a Philadelphia law firm to earn the
money to go back to Europe this summer.
In two weeks she departs for Germany and Hungary to spend a
month visiting friends. The musical
festival in Hungary will be the highlight of this trip! Upon return she will catch her breath
and move into Penn. But, first, she
graduates !! And the truth is …..I don’t want it to
end. Homeschooling this gem has been
such a blast, I’d cheerfully do it all over again.
Andy: After summer
rowing, he is Nicaragua-bound! He has
been placed with a host family and he is brushing up on his preterites. While eager to leap into Spanish immersion, all he talks about is exploring the
Mombacho volcano and catching a bull shark with his bare hands in Lake Nicaragua! Did I mention the source of my grey hair? This young man goes for the gusto!
James: This guy will be chillin’ at day camp. Wisely, he has accepted my Summer 20 Book Challenge (like he had a choice). The deal? He gets his Kindle for an hour a night as long as he’s plowing through this Challenge. His counter-offer: “As soon as I finish reading them all, I will get my Kindle for 3 hours a night, ok?” Hmm……
Before the end of August Peter and I will have been twice
to JFK Airport, twice to Dulles Airport and twice to Newark Airport. The Laberees will be spread out over different continents with too many time zones differences to track. When September comes I know I will be so very glad to see it and to settle into the rhythm of Autumn and school books and falling leaves. Slipping into a school year is like donning a familiar all-weather coat that feels just right all of the time. But summers? They are for the moonstruck howlings of a homeschool mom on hold.
