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Countdown is on for children -- and parents
August is here. The sweetest sounding month of the entire year, at least to parents of school-age children, has arrived and the countdown has begun.
It seems like summer vacation began just yesterday but for most students the number of weeks left can be counted on one hand.
The kids are counting down the days until the return to earlier bedtimes and nightly homework assignments. Meanwhile, the parents are counting down the days until earlier bedtimes and nightly homework battles.
As the wife of a teacher, I feel somewhat torn about the approaching school year.
I'm counting down the days until the older children return to the classroom and the children remaining at home can get back into a regular schedule, which includes the most important aspect of the day -- a nap.
But I'm also counting down the days until the co-rule-enforcer, that is, my husband returns to the classroom, leaving me alone and outnumbered.
I've often wondered what teachers say about their own child's return to the classroom. I just can't imagine a teacher saying to her child, "Thank goodness. Only 13 more days until you go back to school." That just means the teacher has approximately three days less than that to her vacation.
In reality, after about two months, everyone is bored with the situation, adults and kids.
Everyone is ready for a change of pace, even if that does include homework and tests.
At least the kids will have structure to their day, which many lack as soon as school dismisses at the end of May.
I'm not positive, but the world record for the first utterance of "I'm bored" is approximately three hours after school is released.
If I had a dime for each time I moaned that to my mother, I could probably buy her a used car ... a nice, used car ... a very nice, used car.
If I had a dime for each time she returned with, "Do I look like the entertainment director?," we could have matching vehicles.
Personally, I have never understood the dread some students have about returning to school. I love the start of the school year, for the sheer joy of shopping.
All the new school supplies, the new clothes, the new books.
It's the only time of the year that all the Crayons are still sharp, still in one piece, still all in the box.
It's the only time of the year that every pencil has an eraser that hasn't been chewed off.
It's the only time of the year that kids will tolerate sweating in school without complaint -- because they're wearing their new school clothes, all purchased for the winter months.
While the school administration may claim that school is dismissed early for a heat schedule, the reality is that they are afraid too many kids are going to pass out from wearing their brand new sweaters and corduroy pants sets during the summer heat.
I know the time has come for my kids to return to school. They've shown all the classic symptoms that summer has run its course. Their backs are tanned from all the days at the pool. They've visited every relative in the contiguous states. They've grown tired of beating each other with their light sabers.
But the most telltale sign? They're playing school on the front porch for hours on end and actually doing the homework assigned by their teacher/sister.