Lazy Days of Summer
You may wonder what it is about a Wisconsin summer that warrants nary a post. Honestly, I have no idea. Around about Memorial Day, when the air was still chilly enough on some days to grab a jacket, we packed up kids and car to drive nearly 900 miles to spend our lazy days of summer in Maryland.
Let me correct that. The kids and I get lazy days of summer. SOS is commuting approximately five hours a day to a summer internship just outside of D.C. He certainly knows how to live it up, doesn't he?
Having a summer internship away from our student housing in Wisconsin was always part of the plan in this great adventure of sending SOS back to school. I've lost track of the number of people who have given me looks to indicate that we are crazy, but I have a little bit of research to share with you on the matter.
At the end of this summer I will celebrate my 34 years. Provided you don't count my years in Southern California as one long summer, I've had 34 summers.
With me so far?
Of those 34 summers, 21 of them have involved either A) spending six weeks or more in a location other than where I spent the school years bookending that summer or B) a move in residence... or C) both.
So you see, it's not so much that I'm crazy. I'm habituated.
Recently I discovered a pocket of thought on the internet championing the idea of giving young children a broader understanding of the world. From recommendations for reading stories from around the world to "world-schooling," there seems to be a growing hunger for a more global perspective.
I remember dreaming up plans for cultivating this kind of perspective while I was still in grade school, and further appreciated the value of such things when pursuing my undergraduate degree in intercultural studies. So it really should be no surprise to find myself attracted in some way to the idea of pulling up our family's tent pegs and seeing the world.
But before I get carried away planning an elaborate trip, I remind myself that to a certain degree, I am already living it. This summer I keep having flashbacks to the summer five years ago when we traveled the US by train. Again I found myself in the foyer of Independence Hall, shushing a fussy baby and regretting the great acoustics that turns even an isolated baby squeal into a performance. Again I found myself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, feeding a baby boy who is three weeks shy of walking.
With our tent pegs loose, who knows what sights we'll see, where our meanderings will take us?
As far as experiencing a Wisconsin summer, however, the chances look pretty slim. Next year promises to add one more summer to my long list of summers on the road. I'd better enjoy these lazy days of summer while I've got them.
Let me correct that. The kids and I get lazy days of summer. SOS is commuting approximately five hours a day to a summer internship just outside of D.C. He certainly knows how to live it up, doesn't he?
Having a summer internship away from our student housing in Wisconsin was always part of the plan in this great adventure of sending SOS back to school. I've lost track of the number of people who have given me looks to indicate that we are crazy, but I have a little bit of research to share with you on the matter.
At the end of this summer I will celebrate my 34 years. Provided you don't count my years in Southern California as one long summer, I've had 34 summers.
With me so far?
Of those 34 summers, 21 of them have involved either A) spending six weeks or more in a location other than where I spent the school years bookending that summer or B) a move in residence... or C) both.
So you see, it's not so much that I'm crazy. I'm habituated.
Recently I discovered a pocket of thought on the internet championing the idea of giving young children a broader understanding of the world. From recommendations for reading stories from around the world to "world-schooling," there seems to be a growing hunger for a more global perspective.
I remember dreaming up plans for cultivating this kind of perspective while I was still in grade school, and further appreciated the value of such things when pursuing my undergraduate degree in intercultural studies. So it really should be no surprise to find myself attracted in some way to the idea of pulling up our family's tent pegs and seeing the world.
But before I get carried away planning an elaborate trip, I remind myself that to a certain degree, I am already living it. This summer I keep having flashbacks to the summer five years ago when we traveled the US by train. Again I found myself in the foyer of Independence Hall, shushing a fussy baby and regretting the great acoustics that turns even an isolated baby squeal into a performance. Again I found myself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, feeding a baby boy who is three weeks shy of walking.
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| Mama and CutieBabyBoy at Lincoln Memorial, July 2011 |
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| Three Kids at Lincoln Memorial, July 2016 |
With our tent pegs loose, who knows what sights we'll see, where our meanderings will take us?
As far as experiencing a Wisconsin summer, however, the chances look pretty slim. Next year promises to add one more summer to my long list of summers on the road. I'd better enjoy these lazy days of summer while I've got them.
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