I hate summer. I know most families love summer, because it means a break in the kids’ homework routine and sports schedule. It means sending the kids to the swim club for the day or to some amazing camp for weeks. If the family is super lucky, the kids are enrolled in the town recreational camp during the week and, on the weekend, everyone goes to the families’ lake house. Those months fly by until school resumes in early September.
My summers look nothing like that.
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Apt. 11d 
I so hear you.
Summer is lovely if you are a nice middle-class or upper-class family, with neurotypical kids, good family connections and a reasonable income.
If you don’t fit any (or all) of those criteria, summer can be a difficult experience for the parents, and often a miserable one for the kids.
The constant struggle to find (and, in earlier days, afford) the ‘good’ holiday programmes – makes me profoundly grateful to have a teenager – and not have to do this any more.
Having said that, Ian won’t be alone, being in his bedroom.
That’s pretty much the default state for Mr 14 when he’s not in school. I have to fight to get him to do anything else (although we are off to see the new Jurassic Park film in 5 minutes) – and all of his IRL friends from school are just as avid gamers as he is, with as little desire (apparently) to see each other in person.
His one outlet is Musical theatre, and I continue to sign him up for the holiday programme for a week every school holidays – even though he’s technically aged out of the programme – they still love having him (apparently he’s *adored* by the younger kids)
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I just got some texts from the therapy center people.
Apparently, they are short-handed and they kind of want to cancel the rising 4th grader’s July sessions…
I think we’ve managed to avert this, but man.
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