Mary Angel

(June, 2013) There is no way it is already June, but wait it must be June. We had too many birthdays last month to count, the weather can’t make up its mind; I nurtured my plants in the garage until the fear of frost was gone, and most likely planted my dahlias upside down again. All of that can only mean one thing, May is gone and June is here. With June comes a whole new month of excitement.

June means Father’s Day, surgery for my son (again), a dance recital, a concert, figuring out what is wrong with the almost empty pool (something new every year), and most importantly (according to the kids) school is out. I can’t even believe that school is almost out; the kids already have a serious case of spring fever. After school I send them outside to run off some of their steam. June is definitely a month of mixed emotions.

On one hand I can’t wait for the dance recital. To see my youngest in an adorable red costume (with feathers) and her little black tap shoes is going to be worth a thousand pictures and a thousand words. I am serious; my theory on picture taking is the more I take the less likely I am to miss the important ones. The chorus concert at the end of the month is something I am already charging my camera for. The fact that my oldest son has found that hobby that he really enjoys and is really good at totally make my heart smile! But June isn’t all fun and singing.

As for the pool, we have owned the house for three years and every year something has gone wrong. So we obviously have a hole somewhere in the liner and can’t find it. Every year we contemplate not fixing the pool and then we remember (with the help of the thousands of pool pictures I have taken) what a huge blast it is for the kids, their friends, and us. So a headache yes, but totally worth fixing. I just hope one year we open the pool in an extremely uneventful manner.

The surgery is a whole other story. My son had surgery in December which didn’t go as planned. Actually it didn’t work at all, a total fluke! So here we are getting ready to do it all over again. Thank God though; he is totally alright with it. To quote him, "Mom, don’t worry. It’s really OK because the doctor and nurses were so nice to me, I really don’t mind." He is a bit OCD and quirky at times, but what a heart he has. So for me June is a roller coaster of emotions ranging from joy to fear.

For the kids though, it is the fact that school is soon ending that makes it June. Even though there are so many other things going on this month, the only one that matters is that school is out. June signals, for them, the start of summer, the end of homework (besides our annual summer math workbook), summer camps, time in the pool, campfires, cook outs, time with friends, going to the beach, visiting their Meme and Poppop, leisure time, and everything that makes the school year worthwhile.

The kids are already quizzing me on which camp they can each take and when they will be held. Molly is busily planning her birthday party. While the boys are planning there video game chats with friends. Apparently chatting while you are playing video games is the new "texting", which is the new "talking on the phone", which was the new "sending a letter". The boys don’t even have to be playing the same games as their friends, but they are still chatting on their headsets. It actually cracked me up the first time I realized on of them wasn’t even playing at all, just sitting in his room chatting with his headset on.

We have started this years "summer fun" list. This is a list we make every year of things to do over the summer. It can include things to do at home, like pool time, smores, or play dates; it can include field trips, like The Land of Little Horses in Gettysburg or the zoo in Thurmont; or it can be things like getting a manicure or going to the mall or out for ice cream. Every year my husband and I try to add some unexpected ideas to the list. Then we try and see how many of the things we can do before the summer is out. Some years we do pretty good and others not so well. It usually depends on when the camps are and how often we go and visit the grandparents whether there is time for much else. No matter how much we accomplish or don’t accomplish on the list, we have a blast making it and even more fun with the things we do get to.

I guess the bottom line is that I love how much the kids are able to be kids and just worry about the fun they are going to have over the summer. I love that they don’t worry about the hole in the pool or how to pay for summer camps, or scheduling trip to their grandparents, or even having to repeat a surgery. I love that they just get to be kids. It doesn’t mean that they don’t have bad days and don’t worry about things, but it does mean that the magic of summer makes the bad days not mean as much when you are a kid. So, to every mom who is reading this article I wish you a fun and carefree summer with your kids!

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