Summer and Seinfeld

There are many ways in which my summer reminds me of anecdotes from Seinfeld. For example, I could call this the "summer of Julie" (like the "summer of George") because I do seem to have more time alone in the summer than other times of the year. On the other hand, it really could be the antithesis of that because so much of my summer days are being spent carting the kids back and forth to their various activities. For example I got gas yesterday after the last pick up at kids' college and have already used a quarter of a tank!! YIKES!! Plus during "his summer" George learned how to play "frolf", he didn't go to Daily Mass, the gym, dust the top of the refrigerator, and plan out the homeschool year for three children. Also, there's the episode where George decides to do and say the opposite of what comes natually to him, this is how he ends up working as the assistant to the traveling secretary of the New York Yankees. In the summer, I am often reminded that our lives are sort of the opposite of the stereotypical American family (if there is such a thing). Many families spend most of the day apart during the school year, and in the summer have much more time together. We are more like the "bizarro American family". We spend almost all of all our days together almost all the time, but in the summer we have some weeks where the kids are heavily involved in full day camps and activities away from home. Many magazine articles, blog posts, and podcasts this time of year are focused on how to keep the kids from being bored in the summer. Boredom has never been an issue for us anytime of the year, not when we are running like chickens with our heads cut off in the summer and not when we are together 24 hours straight for days at a time. We might nit pick or scream at each other when we are together all the time, we are normal afterall, just not typical. I imagine some people might say, why run like chickens with your heads cut off? Obviously, we don't HAVE to have such a busy schedule in the summer, it is our choice. These are good experiences that the kids are having, and none of us want to change that. We know these are the choices we have made, we made them! We love having choices, we are happy with our choices. Many families endure the summer, and look forward anxiously for the return of the schoolyear routine. In that regard, I guess I am like those families. This stuff is all a lot of fun, but I'll be happy to get back to our real life, as atypical as it may be.

I can't speak of Seinfeld and not mention that George Steinbrenner passed away today. While I am most definitely the OPPOSITE of a Yankee fan, it is the end of an era. Not to mention that it happens to be the one day of the year where I don't mind rooting for a Yankee or two (the All Star Game).