June
12th, 2013…last day of school at Garden Gate Elementary School. The
day my kids and me have been waiting for because we long to sleep up to 10 in
the morning. A break from getting up on alarm every morning, and a relief from
the drop pick schedule at school. Although, it is a different story that kids
will definitely get up early from tomorrow because there is no school, I still
want to think about the extra time frill in the bed. At school parents had mixed
reactions, some parents wanted the school to last a little longer, some were
happy to go home as they had planned big summer vacations to India, while some
like me were undeniably happy to enjoy a laid back summer.
Summer
time is fun time, but based on my motherly experience the excitement doesn’t
last longer if there is nothing interesting to do at home. The matter of fact
is that kids get bored in 2 to 3 days of vacation and ultimately complain about
what to do next. Today’s parenting is no joke coz the parents are solely responsible
to keep the kids engaged with creative activities. Working parents smartly opt
for summer camps, math prep classes, music, dance, swimming, and tennis etc. to
keep the kids occupied. Unlike yester years today’s generation believes in
expensive summer camps as ways to keep the kids active, happy and social.
Back
in the days when I grew up in India, every summer vacation I was sent to my
native place. My native is a small tropical village in the countryside near Goa,
Maharashtra. Almost from grade 2 to grade 8th, I spent every
vacation in my ancestral house in the countryside. Every day I would go out on
an expedition with my uncle, aunty, cousins or friends in the farm. Fetching
water from the well, running in the farms, plucking fruits from the trees to
eat, drinking fresh cool coconut water, or covering the floor with cow dung
everything seemed like an adventure. Believe me, every day would be special even
if I had to go behind the cattle, or visit our ancestral temple. I was like a
free bird let loose in the country without any restrictions to explore every
possible opportunity. The life in my village fascinates me even today. I
consider myself extremely fortunate for such opportunities to lead life in the
recluse of nature and wonder when will my kids get to explore such rustic
earthy and pure fun openings.
Back
in the days, our parents did not even know our whereabouts as long as we were
with some family member. However, today
because of the wide scope of technology, media, and massive reach of
information people know much more than they should and it is practically
impossible to trust anyone. Besides, there are other alarming societal issues
like stranger danger, safety, child abuse, abductions and so on. Therefore,
compared to those days, today looking after the kids single handedly is pretty
challenging. So like a smart mommy on the go, I have stacked up a list of
places to visit, fun things to do at home, lined up play dates and tentatively
planned vacations for the next 8 weeks to keep my kids busy and stimulated. In
fact we have already signed up for summer reading program at the Cupertino
library. My job is to keep their morals boosted and encourage them to relax and
have fun to make the summer of 2013 memorable.
Happy
summer!
