Finals; Regents; Summertime

Now that school is finally over I am trying to start my summer mode of relaxation. Awaiting the results of this years regents exams reminded me of the feeling I had when I was awaiting my Bar Exam results. Ridiculous that I should have this kind of stress over exams which my kids have taken even though I had no input as to how much (quality-wise anyway) they studied. Everyone passed what they needed to pass thank heavens but of course the grades overall were not what I had hoped for in total. This leading to my famous line about them never being able to afford to drive a German made car(excluding Volkswagen..if that is even still manufactured there).
They laugh at my comments but I wonder if they realize that what I am truly saying is that I want them to be able to afford the best of everything, and in my mind the road to that end begins with a good education.

Life is so different for my children than it was for me at their age. I never went to camp. My kids experience at least one camp per year with my younger guy attending two different types. My parents never cared whether or not I was bored in the summer, that is why we had a pool. It was an above the ground type which we painstakingly put up and took down every year. It was a nightmare to put up and a nightmare to take down, but it was all we had. We all pitched in and then we swam in that thing from morning til night all summer long. We didn't go to water parks, amusement parks or extravagant vacations(well maybe we went to some small amusement parks). We didn't attend carnivals or fairs and frankly we didn't feel like we were missing anything.

I am so busy chauffeuring the children from activity to activity I am finding it hard to find the time to just sit and read a book while I drink something cold and alcoholic on my deck.

When parents in the midst of a divorce come in complaining that they need money to "entertain" their children in the summer I smile and remind them that our parents who were not divorced could not afford to entertain us and we turned out just fine. None of my friends ever attended camp and the children we knew who did attend were said to have cold, uncaring parents who were looking to ship them off. We probably turned out a little better than fine after all, because unlike my children, I knew if I wanted more I would have to work for it.