It’s easy to wax poetic about summer: endless open time, seemingly endless hours of evening light. The reality can involve more children pulling each other’s hair and screaming than any of us would care to admit.
Is it all fantasy, then? Those rosy visions of summertime? Certainly not. It is the ideal motivating our striving, however we may fall short. The ideal, as opposed to the rigid view of perfection, is not meant to be attained but is meant to inspire the next step in the right direction.
A good summer is for mothers a matter of striking the balance between careful planning ahead of time to avoid despair at being stuck in the house, hot, and without escape and micromanaging every minute like a cruise director. Children, just like anyone else, benefit greatly from small outings and trips to look forward to. Total lack of planning can lead to a sense of claustrophobia and missed opportunity.
That said, the essence of summer is the experience of productive boredom. If a mother falls into the trap of needing constantly to supply materials, entertain with story and “audio-visual entertainment” otherwise known as television, children become monsters who expect to have others respond swiftly to even the slightest sensation of angst.
As trivial as it may seem, these quotidian considerations of what you do with a pack of children on an unstructured Wednesday afternoon determine the memories children will have. Those memories can inspire a sense of limitless opportunity, a true foretaste of eternity.
The jaded adult assumes that childlike aspirations are simplistic and unrealistic. The childlike adult continues to strive for simple, beautiful visions. Even if not every moment lives up to the possible glories, those that do can contribute to the interior life of a whole and happy person.
Old-fashioned summering is still worth the effort.
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