School Summer Holiday Mania
And so it begins... 6 weeks of kids being on school holiday and 6 weeks of deeply disturbed working and stay at home parents trundling around England trying to stay sane in the case of parents and trying to have adventures in the case of the kids.
As a freelancer I am not obligated to be in an office unless under contract (or to put it crudely - tied to a desk ) unless I choose to do so and this summer I am taking a summer break. My contract ended just before the summer and it just made sense just to tighten the belt and not stress for a month about how I would meet the latest deadline and keep my (very active) kids happy for summer. But I've been lucky to have that option this year. A lot of parents (including other freelancers) will not have this option so I am definitely not complaining but it has given me some time to reflect about the summer holidays.
Summer means so many things to so many people for all sorts of reasons and with all sorts backgrounds.
I am writing about it from a western middle income perspective and so the issues below are so totally first world issues so do forgive me if a lot of what you read next will simply turn your stomach!
On that note, lets start with the little people. When you are a toddler Summer just means you don't have to wear that stuffy coat your parent keeps stuffing you into before allowing you to go out the door (and thats just the nice expensive in some cases denim premium jacket!). When you are a early years primary school goer aged 5-8yrs, its a magical time to go into the garden or the park and be able to run free to be a pirate or princess in world you create.... ok so i let my nostalgia run away a bit.... its more time on the tablet you got for Christmas! When your 9-11yrs its a time to be out with your friends all day every day (if you have a parent at home) or a time to learn new skills and hate every minute at computer clubs or French club (if you're lucky). And when your in secondary school its pretty much the same as the last statement until you turn 16 at which time of course you just hang out at your friend's houses or your house watching TV, chatting, playing the X-Box or Playstation or whatever consoles happen to be in vogue. In my day (showing my age) it was Nintendo. So essentially for little people summer is freedom from school and in some cases watchful interfering eyes (am thinking of the boys that I have been told have recently discovered free-climbing here).
Summer Holidays for the parent on the other hand is a whole different ball game. Its is not a HOLIDAY!. I repeat it is NOT a HOLIDAY!. It's more like a CON ME DAY for 6 whole weeks. So by this I mean we get CONNED by the airlines and travel companies and hoteliers who charge us 50% more to take a family break. We get CONNED by the activity companies who charge a whole week's wages so we can have the pseudo satisfaction that our sprogs will be at least 'entertained' while we go to work. We get CONNED by our own offspring who repeatedly ask for money for ICE CREAM. Why do you need ice cream in 17 degree heat (and i use the word heat loosely) anyway? Do you see my point - Summer school holidays for parents can feel like Punishment.
But then there are those special moments.. You know the ones... don't pretend like you don't know what i'm talking about. Yes! the moment when little johnny/jane or big johnny/jane discovers something new and exciting (world changing even) on that rare family day out. That day the 10year old got to go to the shop all by themselves because you now have it your brain that its safer now the summer is here. That day everyone remembers when no-one argued and there was plenty of laughing. That day you turned into a kid again and chased everyone around with the garden hose or allowed yourself to be buried in the sand hoping they wont leave you there until the tide comes in. That day when you get that hug and a whispered 'Thank you' for the ice cream or the game in the park. The sun, the twitter of nature, that warm but safe feeling and all the countless days when you really see the Joy in Summer School Holidays.
That's First world middle income Summer Mania...Maybe not such a bad 'problem' to have after all!!
