Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Take A Vacation....From Your Problems....

That's a line from What About Bob. The 1991 Bill Murray movie I still love to this day. My wife teasingly calls me Bob, because well, I guess I can be a little "special". And I didn't help my case when I mentioned that I kinda wanted to find my doctor's facebook page. (Just to say hi of course).

box head
But enough about me. The dog days of summer have begun, and for my wife and son, this means whimsical mornings loafing around the house followed by wet and wild afternoons at the pool. Toss in a nap somewhere in between and you have yourself quite the day.

Being a teacher, summer for my wife eases in without deadlines and lesson plans. It’s a glorious time of year, where Sunday evenings unwind with the crickets and fireflies.

With summer comes a change in my wife, and it's amazing to watch her transformation as school ends. Not that she's, uh, not always lovely and all, or doesn't care about the children. And as much as the children are the future, the future can wear you down over the course of a school year.

But just as soon as that last day of school is over, it's all about relaxation. All of that end of the school year stress just melts off of her shoulders and slides down her back. At least until that one random morning in August when she will leap out of bed with the realization that it’s all about to crank up again.

But the living is easy for now. Without daycare, we can all sleep in for a few months, and my wife can pretend that she doesn't have a job while my son, well, he can just resume being a maniac.

Summers are interesting at my house though. It’s not all R&R. That's because my wife's idea of relaxing usually involves power tools, I never know when I’ll come home to a construction site. Take yesterday, the very first freaking day of summer vacation, when I came home and found boxes of old tiles from where she’d ripped up in the sunroom. She’ll look at me with an innocent smile, the errant swipes of paint on her arms and legs, my kid’s hair with some combination of yogurt and oatmeal spiking his hair, making him look all mug shot crazy.


The Fam
So that’s summer for me, sure it's technically spring, but I'm already creeping down the street after a day at work, waiting to see a dust cloud hovering over my house, never quite knowing just what I’ll find. Enjoy it teachers, you've earned it. Here's to the crazy days of summer, and to my kid being home with his Mom all day. Oh the trouble they'll find!


4 comments:

  1. Hi Pete! I'm visiting from Sarah Brentyn's blog. Great to "meet" you.

    I applaud and admire teachers for their ability to work with children. I mean, a whole classroom? I can barely handle the two I have!

    It's great your wife gets to spend more time working on projects and hanging out with your son. And summer is the best time to fling open the windows and let in the outside air (while tearing up tile, of course).

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  2. Hey Lori, thanks for stopping by! To be honest I don't know how my wife does it. Second grade, too!

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  3. Love the way you describe your "summer" life. Reminds me of my own summer vacations when I was in school. Enjoy the sunshine and surprises your Wife has in store! haha

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  4. Pete, I hate to mention what it was like in our house in the summer with you out of school for all of that time. YIKES! I wish I could have stayed home and guarded the sanctity of our house from you and your cousins. And of course, the girls certainly weren't innocent bystanders in your feast of warm weather destruction.

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