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How I Spent My Summer Vacation
I forgot to take a vacation this year.
Well, I forgot to plan one, at least. The worst part is we didn't even notice that we weren't going on vacation. You see, up until now, Junior has been in preschool. So we took advantage of that. We took vacations in November, when everything is cheaper and Disneyland has no lines.
But Junior is starting "big boy" school this year. So we can't take a vacation in November. And I planned nothing for this summer. I'm just not used to having to go on vacation with the rest of the world. I don't think I will like it very much. Not that it matters, since this year our summer vacation was non-existent. Oh, Junior had the summer off, of course. I did send him to summer school for a bit, just because he loves school so much. I'm not sure how long that will last, so I try not to discourage it.
But for me, summer was pretty much like any other season, only hotter. Like most moms, I did the usual chores and errands and took Junior to Bonfante Gardens, the zoo, the tech museum and any other place I could think of.
And I wonder why I did that.
I mean, when I was a kid, summer meant school was out, and so was I. My sisters and I spent our time outdoors. We swam, explored the fig orchard behind our house, and did experiments with our science kit. (I once spent an entire summer trying to make a small explosion on the front porch using only the ingredients from my Super Secret Chemist's set.) We played with our Barbies in the front yard water fountain that my dad made out of lava rock. The lava rock was great, we used it for our favorite game of Barbie and Ken go to Hawaii.
The only time we really went anywhere was ballet lessons and grandma's. And we didn't care. We enjoyed just hanging out with friends in pseudo-Hawaii and trying to blow up the porch. It was summer, what more could we want?
But today kids expect more and parents try to give it to them. Look, I'm as guilty as any mom. If Junior is bored, I rush to find something for him to do. A friend to play with, a place to go, anything. My mom never did that. If we said we were bored, mom handed us a broom. We could sweep the porch or go out and play. I didn't sweep much. So I'm puzzled. Why don't I do that with Junior?
Is it to keep up with the other moms? Is it because my son is exposed to so much in the media that he expects Chuck E. Cheese and Bonfante Garden trips just because he's bored and not as a special treat? Or is it because I don't want to be bored either?
Let's face it, stay at home mommy-hood has its drawbacks. I don't get a lot of adult interaction and that gets dull. I never meant to stay at home, it just happened one day when I looked at Junior's little face and knew that I could not leave him at daycare again. I don't regret it, I love staying home and I love being with Junior, but it's not the busy life I once had.
So I wonder if I am the one addicted to stimulation, not Junior. Am I the one who needs to go to Chuck E. Cheese and play video games and see how long I can survive on pizza? Am I the one who needs to ride the roller coaster ten times at Bonfante and walk through the gardens trying be the first one to spot the Banana tree?
I don't know. I don't know if I have pushed my son into a world where he has to have something to do every single second. I don't know if I have taken the very essence of childhood from him--that part of childhood where you sit on the grass and watch clouds roll by. I just don't know.
But with one week of summer left, I think will take a vacation from the stimulation. I'll go outside and play with my son. We'll look at clouds and have snail races--if that's what we feel like doing. And maybe we will both find that we had the best summer vacation ever.
Copyright 2001 Laurie Sontag
