Summer! – The Reluctant Grownup

Is anyone else sleeping a lot? It’s a three day weekend around here (and will my work leave me alone? Signs point to “yes!”) I napped all day Saturday, and slept a full night (7 hours and 40 minutes, per my fitbit). I took two separate naps Sunday, and still slept 6 hours and 45 minutes Sunday night. I feel refreshed this Monday morning but . . . naps might be in my future today, who knows? It’s a day off, I do what I want!

Side note – I have read a couple stories lately that might be relevant to this. One about an ER doctor who quit being an ER doctor and slept 18 hours a day for the following 2 weeks, before waking as if from a dream and then pursuing a new career. The other was similar, but about a lawyer who left Big Law and took three months off to sleep and recover. I am jealous of people who are able to quit one job without having another lined up, I have to say, but anyhow maybe that + coronavirus is an explanation for my exhaustion.

This summer has been an experience of cautious re-entry into the world. Last summer was obviously murderous, what with the children underfoot and the working full time, but it was nice not to pay $200-300 per week per child for summer care. This year, the boys are doing different stuff. Jack’s done a basketball camp and two art intensive camps taught by a real artist.

Craig’s done baseball camps and then zoo camp. Liam did a little zoo camp and then another nature camp at a beautiful fancy house and gardens here in town. (Funny – Liam’s full name is William, and they called him William all week at zoo camp, and he didn’t correct them. He signed his papers ‘William,’ answered to ‘William,’ and the kids who wrote on his camp t-shirt wrote messages to William. I asked him why, and he said he wanted to try it out. Then I asked him if he forgot to respond sometimes when people called out for “William” and were talking to him, and he grinned sheepishly and said “yeah, a lot!” What a funny kid.) (He does not intend to go by William from here on out. It was just a fun interlude of trying out being someone else, I guess, which we all try from time to time.)

We have done/are doing multiple trips this summer. All adults in this household (including Jack) and adults we traveled with are fully vaccinated. All kiddies under 12 wore masks indoors. It felt very normal. . .ish.

First, for a week in June we spent my Hyatt points from all my business travel and subsidized a week in a resort in south Florida.

My in-laws joined us, so the kids had pals to run around with.

The resort had an amazing lazy river – one particular memory I’ll have forever is rolling around that lazy river four or five times in a row with Liam chatting the whole way about Pokemon. At one point, he said “I love telling you this because you’re so interested!” Ha!

There was also a sister resort with some awesome waterslides, so we spent one full day there.

Liam celebrated his eleventh birthday – we had a fun party and a movie night – Galaxy Quest, a perfect for-all-ages hit.

We also had fun with the faces app going around social media right now. Liam and Craig looked like little Disney princes. The Prof looked like a seedy mid-level dealer at a drug cartel. We all had a good laugh at that. (We’ll try it again on a day he’s clean shaven!)

I tried it numerous times myself, with varying success.

The resort also owned a small island/beach in the gulf nearby. It was a small beach with a few shelters and a bathroom, and a small shrubby area good for exploration and finding really amazing conch shells.

I took Liam, Craig, and my niece Harper on a shell-foraging trip back behind the treeline, and we had a lot of fun scrambling around checking out the wildlife back there.

When we got home to the hotel that evening, Craig studiously scrubbed each shell in the bathroom sink, and then laid them out carefully to dry.

On our last day there, I got word that this little nugget made his appearance – Louis Samuel, my sister’s third baby and her smallest (believe it or not) at 9 lbs, 15 oz.