Shifting perspectives

Written on June 15, 2022

While the NYC public schools go until almost July, preschool got out for summer yesterday. It hit me that this will be the last time my kids’ breaks don’t line up with one another for quite awhile and there were some big feelings.

It’s felt like our spring was the new winter this year in terms of viruses. We got back from spring break and it has been a snowball of illness, one thing after the other. If it were January, this would have been expected but in May and June, sick days home from school are not welcome. Add to the mix the continued headache of is it covid?, how many tests do we have to take until we’re sure it’s definitely not covid, and over explaining that the bronchial cough of your almost five-year-old is thanks to the 467th cold she’s picked up, and it’s all been a bit much.

As an added bonus, there have been three days off from school since Memorial Day weekend, because days off before summer break begins are very necessary.

So first, I was not exactly thrilled with another week of having a kid home for multiple days. Then it hit me that this would be the last time G would have time off of school when her sisters didn’t and I decided we’d make the most of it. We got a bubble tea today that she’s been talking about for more than a week and discovered G doesn’t like the gummy bubble things.

Tomorrow we’re treating ourselves to bagel store tuna salad for lunch. On Friday, who knows- will we get ice cream and try not to melt? Watch videos all day because she’s on vacation? Time will tell.

On Tuesday preschool camp will begin and we’ll kick off our summer programming, the last summer before she joins the elementary school ranks. We will soak up one last summer of having only two fluent readers who are experts in everything, and one child who thinks the adults are always and forever right. Cheers to the beginnings of this sweet summertime.