Summer has arrived. Oh, I know it is not here officially, by the calendar at least. However, all the necessary ingredients are in place:

  1. School is out
  2. It is hot
  3. My kids are bored

Ergo, summer is here.

Summer in Texas is my least favorite season. It is hot. So hot that eventually, in another month, we will barely venture outside. Summer starts as early as March and lasts until October arrives. A long, long time.

My kids are already perpetually bored. It didn’t help that I was sick for a month, and they have been entertaining themselves that whole time. Now that I am recovering, I must face the task of how to get three kids through a long summer.

Every other kid in our area seems to have a full schedule already. “Oh, this week we do VBS, then he goes to camp, then we go on vacation”; “I have them signed up for swimming, art classes, nature time at the museum, and then they visit their grandparents for the month of July”. And so on.

Problem - all this takes money, of which we have enough to pay bills and buy groceries. I used to get some outside work singing at church, but that had dried up this year, much to my confusion.  My money went to the kids - classes, books, outings. It was never much, but it counted. Now, we are forced to rely on our own creativity!

It is a little lonely, though. With many of their friends in classes and activities we cannot afford, there are few playmates around. We will probably manage a playdate here and there.  I will begin work on their “100 Things to Do When I Am Bored” lists, and urge them to consult frequently.

Some things are free, though. The library is free and air conditioned, so we will get very comfortable there. Our neighbors’ peach trees are ripe, and we can have all that hang over into our driveway. We have been picking, and plan to make a peach pie! And thank goodness laughter is free, and so is love. I know we need more of both of those!