Goodbye, Summer. We Hardly Knew You.

We made a quick stop in a local store one beautiful July day to pick up a few things on our way out of town.  Without warning, my kids covered their eyes and cried out in anguish and despair, so embarrassingly loud that I thought something must have dropped on them from the ceiling. I looked around to see what caused so much pain, and spotted it just a few aisles ahead.

School supplies. In July. What kind of sick joke is that?

We roll our eyes at Christmas decorations in August, but setting up school reminders before I have even managed to kill my newly-planted flowers is just cruel. And it’s not just the kids who are upset. Think of the poor teachers who barely got one class out the door—they’re looking forward to finally relaxing and reading a book that is not education-related. To subject them to such in-your-face reminders of a new school year is surely a form of torture.

I’m not the only mom who likes having the kids around in the summer.  Most of my friends enjoy lazy summer mornings and long weekends away. Or at least the knowledge that we could go away if we wanted (or had the money) to. We know that every child needs to have unplanned weeknight sleepovers with friends, morning chores, and unscheduled days and nights in order to appreciate the structure of school days. Every child needs the chance to be bored, and find something to cure their boredom—before we find something for them. We need to ease into and out of summer. We don’t need two months to prepare for a new school year. Summer goes by fast enough—let us enjoy it for a few more weeks.

Remember a few years ago when we sent the kiddies back that last week of August? Someone finally realized that waiting until after Labor Day is economically advantageous because we’ll all spend our money during one last hurrah up-north. Money talks. Maybe if we all band together and refuse to give in to the July school supply sales the stores will wise-up and wait a few more weeks before setting up their displays. 

But then they wouldn’t have any room for the Christmas stuff.