I feel like I blinked, and we went from August to June.

The school year didn’t seem to be moving so fast when we were in the moment; in fact, I thought it might never end.  Overall, the kids had a good year, so I really have nothing to complain about, but now summer break is here and that presents a whole new set of issues.

Having a child with special needs definitely throws a wrench into the “lazy, carefree days of summer” theory. At least, it does for this family.  My kiddo with Down syndrome needs a routine that he can count on, or he flips out.  Tomorrow morning, he will undoubtedly wake up and want to get ready for school.  “We have PE on Wednesdays,” he’ll say, and he’ll ask me what the cafeteria will be serving for lunch.  When I try to explain that there won’t be school because now it’s summer, he’ll pout for a while, then come back a few minutes later and tell me that he needs his sneakers for PE because it’s Wednesday.  We’ll do this for a couple of weeks, before he realizes that he’s on a new schedule.  It will be exhausting for both of us.

It is my goal to have a “summer schedule” in place by next week (Mondays will be library day, Tuesdays we’ll go bowling, etc…something along those lines), but all of the short-term summer camps and programs that the kids will attend will not allow me to have a consistent schedule all summer.  This will cause stress to my kiddo with Ds, which will in turn cause stress to the rest of us.  And then, quicker than it seems right this second, it will be time to send them back to school, and after a couple weeks we’ll finally be back in the swing of things.  So, we’re looking at about 12 weeks of unrest.  Swell.

When school does resume, I’ll have a third grader.  Already.  Didn’t I just drop him off for his first day of preschool, like two minutes ago??  The scary thing is that I remember third grade.  I loved it.  I met several friends with whom I’m still in contact, so very many years later.  That kind of freaks me out…he’s just growing up too fast.

As much as I do dread summer break (if this puzzles you, please reread from the beginning…), I’m hoping all three of my kids have an enjoyable 10 weeks.  Even though there is sure to be drama, I’m hopeful that there will be enough zoo trips, backyard water fights, picnics, bug chasing, fountain playing, bike riding, gardening, and other pint-sized shenanigans to make some nice memories for all of them.

Welcome, summer.  For better or for worse.