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As I left the house this morning to drop my kids to school, I glanced at a list on the kitchen bulletin board that reads: "Summer Goals." Big, bold, in magic marker.
I know it's a new school year and time to look ahead, but as I headed out, I couldn't help think of all the things I had planned that didn't quite happen. At the beginning of summer, a day or two before school ends, I usually make an ambitious list of summer goals for the family. It includes trips I want us to take, house projects, and academics and activities for the kids.
So now, summer's over and only a few items have been satisfyingly crossed off. We painted my daughter's roomdidn't finish the window trim though. We went to an awesome water park, but didn't make it to the Yale Peabody Museum or the Bronx Zoo.
My 5th grade son was entranced by "The Hunger Games" trilogy, a series of popular young adult novels, but didn't read one book on the suggested reading list. My 7-year-old daughter became a more confident swimmer, but still insists on wearing one small floatie. We made homemade ice cream as part of our eat healthy goal, but otherwise ate mostly burgers and fries all summer long. Some things didn't even get started: toy triage, weekly journal writing, table manners.
I imagined time at home to be full of creative and inspired activity. But in reality it was more like a looping episode of Tom and Jerry. I was the constant referee of my children's incessant fighting.
Can a child psychologist please explain the purpose of this interplay in their development? When I wasn't refereeing, I was a computer screen monitor. How is "Want to play Scrabble?" supposed to compete with "Robo Pop" on miniclips.com, a kids online game website? Honestly, I needed a striped jersey and a whistle around my neck at all times.
Something did happen this morning that gave me hope. My son, now the big man on campus, insisted on walking his sister to her second grade class. He made sure that she was settled in and said an encouraging goodbye before heading to his room down the hall. I'm hoping the daily separation will make their hearts grow fonder.
And as for the list, I think I'll transfer the remaining items to my "Fall Goals" list that I have yet to write. Let's hope they get crossed off by next summer.
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