Other People's Words Wednesday: Summer afternoon

It feels like the rest of the world is settling into sun-bleached chaise lounges at the public pool, packing up to go eat sandy sandwiches at the beach all day or filling the back of the SUV with camping equipment for a family road trip. But it isn't the rest of the world. And it certainly isn't this city.

Chicago public school kids still have three more days of classroom time stretched out before them, making up for the weeks teachers were on strike in the fall. As a family, we supported that strike and why the teachers needed to walk out -- we still do. But man, has it felt like a grind to keep up the school routine until the end of June. 

This week, I prayed the second-grade teachers would get lax on homework and let the kids out for another recess or two. I rolled out the simplest homemade cheese pizza, baked it, and cut it into quarters for this week's low-maintenance lunch -- not because it is necessarily low-maintenance, but because I couldn't bear to make another ham sandwich. I've let up on my strict bedtime. I am just done.

What I am longing for is to release the constant motion of our days and evenings. What I want is to press pause on the schedule. Of course, that's not how it will go. Not for the whole summer. Not with visitation and day camp and playdates and any travel we may squeeze in. 

But just as I would like to put school aside, I'd like to set aside the new season's schedule aside. At least for now. What I'd like for me and my boy is a few summer afternoons. Standing water. Sitting in sand. Slurping up popsicles. Snuggling up with books. Sleeping in.