Funny how much I get sucked into the mentality of a little kid, finishing up school today, embarking on a period of a long summer vacation! I can see myself back in the days of being a mom, anticipating this more relaxed period, yet more demanding on my time, because kids needed programs and activities and they needed to be taken to and from programs and activities. I can see myself, too, as the young teen, finishing school for the academic year, heading out to my grandmother's village house for the summer. A good bye to one set of friends, a hello to the summer gang. Leisurely wake-ups, breakfasts with my sister, on the verandah. Left to our own devices all day, every day, all summer long.
American kids, as they get older, get more industrious than, say Polish kids ever were. They get jobs. They earn money. They save up for clunker cars or video games. None of my Polish friends got summer jobs. We all just hung out. Took forest walks. Swam in the river. Bike rides to nearby villages. Impoverished money wise, but free to explore, take chances, be our own bosses.
These grandkids of mine are not only 100% American in their habits, but, too, of a different generation. Left to their own devices, they would probably sneak in too much tablet time. Snowdrop, at age nine, can't wait to start baby sitting. When I grilled her on the reasons for it, she scowled at me, not liking the fact that I was questioning her choices. Babysitting, to her, is what mature kids do! A little capitalist in training.
Still, these kids, like me, love the idea of a summer of no school. Vacations are different. Less stressful. With more time, to just be. Vacations rule and today marks the start of a kid vacation.
It's a brilliant morning!
Still windy, so the bugs are mostly staying away.
(More poppies poppin'...)
(Childhood memories: of poppies in a wheat field... farmhouse poppies are in the grassy meadows.)
I do a quick weed pull, but then I throw it all aside and bike over to Steffi's House. You remember this place?
It's in the new development that abuts the farmette lands and a friend is in the process of purchasing that house. Closing next week. Inspection -- this morning. I'm helping move things along and so I bike over to listen in on the details.
In new construction, there's plenty of room for fussing. This board doesn't fully meet that board. Pipe wet, electrical outlet not wired correctly. This is just normal stuff that you work through once the keys are handed to you. My friend isn't going to be living in this place right away (others will inhabit it) and so I am keeping an eye out on the details. This takes up a good chunk of my morning.
On the upside, the house is right next to Tati Co Coffee Shop. I stop by on my way home and lo! They have a fresh delivery of Madison Sourdough baked goods! Guess who's going to be eating croissants and pain au chocolat for breakfast!
Weeding in the wind follows.
And then it's time to pick up the now officially vacationing kids!
(exuberance: vacation!)
(ambivalence: I dont want to leave kindergarten!)
Lots of treats today: french fries from Culvers, ice cream from Tati's.
And now to the farmhouse, where they have spent their free time on school days all year long. Sparrow goes off to the art room, writing endless math sums -- as is his joy on so many days, Snowdrop and I read together. I glance over and tell her -- you're so grown up! She laughs. Gaga, I just put the wobble board between the two carpets pretending it's a bridge. I am not very grown up!
I drop them off as usual at their brother's school. It's his last day too, in that he moves to a different space and different teachers next year. But of course, he knows none of this. The smile isn't for vacation, it's for seeing his family at the end of the day.
These guys:
With so much love...
