Counting the Days

There’s an ad for Staples on television I saw a few years ago that, to this day, makes me laugh out loud. It shows a man skipping down the aisles of a store pushing a shopping cart. You can hear the song, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” playing in the background. Walking slowly and sadly behind him are the man’s two children. An announcer comes over the music and says, “It’s that time of year again. It’s ‘Back to School!’”

I love that commercial because I feel exactly the way the father feels. I cannot wait for school to begin again. I realize I am one of the rare few who feels this way, but I can’t help myself. My children, raised by an intractable mother, do much better with routine. They enjoy knowing what each day will bring, and on days when the program is empty, they get restless and annoyed.

I know just how they feel.

I, too, appreciate a productive day. If I had a choice between working my fingers to the bone and sitting at a humdrum desk job, I would immediately pick the former. I cannot stand having nothing to do.

A close friend of mine recently got laid off. Her husband told her to “take it easy” for a while and enjoy some time to herself. “I can’t,” she told him. “I don’t like just hanging around the house.”

Amen, sister. Yes, I look forward to the weekends where I can pick up a newspaper, sip coffee and chat with my husband. But if I did that every single day I would go slowly insane. I feel good when I cross things off my to-do list. I am overwhelmed by a massive sense of accomplishment.

So yes, summer is fun and I do enjoy being able to spend a day at the park now and then. But three months of that? No thanks.

This last week of summer vacation will be excruciatingly long. (It will also be complicated by having to wait around for handymen and exterminators, but that is a subject for another post.) But I’m hoping to get through it by having something to do each day. I bought a couple of workbooks for the kids to do each morning so they get used to the idea of having to do schoolwork. Although I’m already a sleep Nazi, I have allowed them a few late nights over the summer. Those are coming to an abrupt halt and I plan on tucking them in bed by 7:30 p.m. each night. (More time for me!) I will try and schedule some fun afternoons, either at the pool or the park, because hey, let’s not pop every balloon they have, right? And while my kids are enjoying the last moments of their holiday, I will be dreaming of the week ahead.

Photo by Sophie, courtesy of stock.xchng