Good heavens…I cannot believe how quickly the summer flew by. Taking classes online do not allow students like me to discern any difference between the school year and the summer. Well, considering that working adults do not get a summer break from work like school kids in elementary or high schools do, but when those working adults have children at home, the weeks of summer vacation are wrought with the challenges of finding constructive (and safe) things for children to do when left at their own devices while the parents are at work. Mine is only 13, and when I was 13 I was saddled with a heck of a lot more responsibility than teenagers these days. So, he is home by himself with nothing to do.

My son spent a lot of his summer outdoors with his friends; at the pool, playing street hockey, and just hanging out. Getting into trouble more like it. It is hard on parents during the summer. If summer camps or other daytime activities (supervised, of course) are not affordable, the working parents have no choice but to leave the kids alone and trust that they will behave themselves. Mine does not.

So, since school started for him last week, my husband and I have experienced a little bit of a sense of relief knowing that for at least 6-8 hours of his day are occupied by school. Unfortunately, when he gets out of school, there is another 6-8 hours when he is on his own (or at least for the next few weeks until I get back from Hawaii, and then it will be only another 2-3 hours) and my husband and I can only hope that he plays by the rules. I know he does not, but what can we do?

I have been enjoying my break from school only in that I do not have to worry about completing coursework while I take care of my daughter and her kids. I think I am more exhausted each day NOT in school right now than I ever was IN school. When I was at home, I’d get up at 6:30 AM, go to work, go home, work on school until the wee hours, sleep for 4 hours and start the cycle again. These past weeks taking care of my daughter, I am up at 6:30 AM, feeding two babies, taking a 1^st grader to school by 7:30 AM (with the babies in a stroller which is a chore getting going in the first place), back for naps, some house cleaning, babies up for feeding, play time, and back for naps, more housework, lunch, babies up again, feeding, play time, back for naps (in the stroller), walk to pick up 1^st grader from school, snack time, play time, homework (for 1^st grader, not me), housework, start dinner, babies up again, 1^st grader bouncing all over the place, dinner, baths all around, feeding again for the babies, bed time, clean the kitchen, shower for me, and bed by midnight and it starts again the next day.

I’m exhausted.