The last day of school was last week and summer is now in full swing. And now that my son is in school, summer is back to being a more defined moment in time rather than just the hottest time of the year. But I’m finding summers now to be a lot different than when I was a kid.

What Camps Are You Doing?

The big question all my parent friends ask whenever summer comes up is: “What camps are you doing?” Kids aren’t just doing one long camp, but a week here and there, all with different themes. So far my son has a week at Sports Camp, then LEGO camp, then Space Camp. You know what I had? Camp Grandma’s House where the theme was….nothing. I had to make stuff up to do. Sometimes the highlight of my day was getting to go to the drugstore to buy a new magazine. And then I would read every part of that magazine over and over, even the ads in the back.

I recall every year I was convinced summer was this magical time for self-recreation. I would make lists about how I was going to get a tan, grow my hair long and stop biting my nails. I imagined returning to school like a butterfly, transformed over those three hot months with nothing to do but concentrate on myself. Summer for my son looks a lot different. It’s mostly centered around keeping him busy and out of my hair for a small part of the day.

Road Trips and Family Vacations

Summer is also the time for family vacations! This is also much different than when I grew up. My mom doesn’t like to travel, so we never took vacations. The closest I got to a vacation was spending my summers in Alabama, and then my great-grandma would take me to Opreyland for the day. Opryland was a theme park in Nashville, TN that closed in 1997. It was more fun than it sounds. They actually had a few rollercoasters!

But I married a man who loves to travel and enjoys a good adventure, so we now plan family vacations. The kind of stuff my son probably won’t appreciate until he’s grown and trying to keep his own kids entertained over the summer. Road trips with quality family time, biking, hiking, swimming and boating. The kind of stuff I never got to do, so I’m excited to do it now.

We have stuff planned, and are going to plan more. Got to fill up these long, hot, school-free months! I’m so happy that the world is recovering from Covid and opening back up again so travel is possible.

What about you? Got any big summer plans?