Today my daughter came up to me and said the dreadful words,” I’m bored.” School is out for the summer and the season looms ahead of us. She explained that she had done everything to avert the “boredom monster” as I used to perceive it. “Mama, I have danced, I read, I did some art and now, I’m bored.” So I took a closer look at her statement and then I came up with an idea…me had a thought…or a chain of them any way.

I remember being a kid out of school for the summer and it never occurred to me to utter the “I’m bored” mantra of every school age kid. No way, I had to keep my mouth shut because if I ever dared make such a declaration, my aunt would have found me more work to do. As it is I had to help her shine her collection of sterling silver which she kept in a china cabinet that went from floor to ceiling and it was full of beautiful silver artifacts. Then if that wasn’t enough to keep my little hands busy, she expected me to do some kind of needle work. So you see, I became an expert at biting my tongue and not letting those 2 little words escape my lips.

So as I came back to the present and I studied my daughter laying on the couch in the living room; I told her what I had always wanted to hear from my aunt’s mouth but it never came,” It’s ok to not always be doing something .” My girl looked at me and I saw her relax right away as I continued,” I don’t think you’re bored,I think you might feel like you always have to be doing something…just enjoy yourself..it’s still good to day dream ok?” She smiled as she settled on the couch to continue doing absolutely NOTHING!

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!                                  

I enjoy summer vacation because I believe something special happens to me as a teacher and to my kids that I teach;just as life reflects nature;summer is a season of growing in ways that won’t be apparent until the following fall when school begins anew. During this season of rest and growth;we get rejuvenated and our roots tend to go deeper. I live out in the desert and nature hibernates when the weather is scorching;likewise I believe that as we rest from all school work and pressures that accompany the lives of teachers and their students;summer is when we “marinade” in all the knowledge that was acquired in the previous school year

I have seen it personally year after year;every time school starts back up for us,my kids come in eager to start. Also ,skills that may not have come easy to some of them,somehow after summer vacation,they grasp them . Being that I run a small school I have the privilege of seeing up close changes that perhaps might be missed if my kids swam in a bigger pond..

So go ahead,kick off your shoes,buy a new bathing suit,grill out,plan a vacation some where far away or maybe stay close by;but whatever you choose to do, whether it’s a lot, a little or maybe nothing at all..ENJOY yourself and live!  See you next Fall young people :)!!!

                                                     Eva Santiago copyright 2010