Summer break

I made it. I lived through the last few very frustrating weeks. They included, in no particular order, 2 soccer practices and one game per week, multiple band concerts, several weeks spent on a report due to the Executive Director of the agency I work for, a Coming of Age celebration with family visiting, several days of running errands and transporting kids to dentist, orthodontist and doctor appointments in which, and this is not hyperbole, I spent the entire day in my car, general day-to-day living and laundry, meal cooking, etc., plus yard work, putting in the garden, volunteering on multiple campaigns, and fighting with a kid who shall remain nameless about an epic lack of effort in his academic life. Yesterday was my last day of volunteering at school, at the end-of-year assembly. It is in the gym at our little non air-conditioned school, and it gets hot in there. My hatred of crowds kicks in and I feel trapped. I tried to stay cool, but I get frustrated and I have little patience with rude parents who think they are somehow special and therefore deserving of a spot near the refreshment table, blocking the poor volunteer who is trying to pour punch for 200 people and make sure an errant 3 year old doesn't stick his or her fingers in the cake. Said parents were particularly clueless and rude this year, and not in control of the 3 year olds. Argh. Last night we celebrated with junk food (Arby's for dinner!) and a swim at our friends' backyard pool. Today I slept in, we ran a few errands, including a trip to the local library, which was positively teeming with kids from my kids' school, and came home for the afternoon. I did some work on the summer homeschooling project (credit recovery for a failed class for the nameless kid) and took a nap. A glorious, beautiful, just-because-I-could nap. The boys had a water balloon fight in the back yard. Bliss. Summer has come -- Evan leaves for Camp Grandma tomorrow, and I am hoping we can get some camping time in soon. Rob has some outlets to add in the upstairs before we have foam insulation sprayed in this summer, and he plans to switch out the bathroom fan for a quieter one that will pull out more cubic feet of air and that has separate switches for the fan, light and nightlight. Once that is done the energy efficiency plan will be put into action, and we hope to have a more energy efficient home, and lower utility bills. Homeschool starts Monday, and we will be diving into 16 chapters of World History, keeping track of the reading, taking quizzes, watching supplementary videos, completing three enrichment projects (research papers, etc), testing, and compiling a portfolio for the school district to assess. Good thing I am a history geek. The chaos has let up, although summer always brings its own brand of crazy. At this point I am grateful for a break in the action and ready to give myself a little recess. I have earned it.