Summers look so idyllic on paper, in photos and in books. We moms know, summer can be long, hot, and chock full of mayhem. A "fresh hell" is always around the corner. My boy didn't want to go to the beach.....so we never made it. We saw a couple movies,went on a vacation to visit family, played endless video games, tried camp and withdrew him from camp. Sensory challenged kids don't need screaming kids assaulting him in a hot gym for 8 hours, everyday. Oh crap. My bad. Camp worked ok last summer, not this summer. My job ended so I had the usual angst about money, but slowly.....ever so slowly, the summer eased into a cool, easier vibe. I didn't push my boy into doing activities and outings he clearly hated. Money started to trickle in. (After I prayed like a motherfucker!) I followed Montesori's philosophy and let the boy lead. I was so darn tired from all the "work" I did through the years with early intervention, classes, play date arrangements.. etc.....I decided to let him orchestrate HIS summer. He did practically nothing but video games and TV and hamburgers and fries, pizza and popsicles. Ice cream truck brought him treats when I had the money. Animals provided endless fun and fluffy love. I eased up, basically. I'm not sure if he benefited from such a low key, non academic or non driven summer agenda. I still had the angst, but I recently asked him how his summer was. He replied,"Great!!" He was happy. He was relaxed. He didn't learn how to play the violin or make croatian pottery, but he was a happy kid. No friggin beach or cocktail could have made me feel better than that.
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