Thoughts From Janice: Time to Recharge Your Batteries

A teacher friend of mine thinks of the summer as one long weekend, comparing July to Saturday and August to Sunday. That said, we’re heading into Sunday. For my husband and I, it’s one week without children down, two to go.

Our daughters, 14 and 11, are at camp for three weeks, their fifth summer in a row. I’m not sure who was more excited to see that bus pull away from the mall, the screaming kids already singing camp songs, or the high-fiving parents.

Now before you start thinking I send my kids to camp so that I can get some time away from them, nothing could be further from the truth. The benefits of summer camp run the length of a canoe, and our kids haven’t stopped talking about camp since we retrieved them last summer, brown as berries, golden-haired and glowing.

But I can’t deny the time away from our kids has become a definite perk to sending them to camp. My husband and I can clean our house without it getting messed up, we’re in charge of the remote control for once and we take care of a laundry list of neglected household repairs. I know what you’re saying – stop with the exotic romance!

OK, seriously, we do go out for nice dinners and theatre and reconnect with each other. And after about two and a half weeks, we start to miss the noise and chaos that a house with children brings. We count down the days until we see our kids emerge from the woods dragging their duffle bags towards the minivan.

But until then, it sure is quiet around here.

On newsstands now
Spend the rest of your summer with the June/July issue of ParentsCanada. Need help with unruly tweens? Our Q&A with parenting expert Michele Borba will help you make a positive attitude adjustment. Or if you’re packing up for a day at the beach, check out our cool sandy beach crafts and trail mix recipes. Or if you’re ready to curl up with a good book, our list of Forest of Reading award nominated books are sure to pique your young reader.

Published in August 2010