Reader here!
You know that classic Christmas song, “It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the yeeeeear…,” right?
I think most students might disagree, as it’s the start of summer holidays – two whole months without school!
The Christ the Teacher Catholic School Division wrapped up its school year yesterday, while for the Good Spirit School Division, Prairie Valley School Division and Manitoba’s Park West School Division, today (Friday) is the last day of classes, while to the east, the Swan Valley and Mountain View School Divisions have one more day, on Monday, before they shut ‘er down for the summer.
Is there anything better that tearing out of the classroom on the last day of the school, knowing you have an entire summer of adventure ahead of you?
Two months with no alarm clocks, getting to do what you want (for the most part). Hanging out with your friends, hitting the swimming pool, riding bikes, sleepovers (anytime during the week, not just on weekends!)
Of course, there’s always chores to do, whether it’s mowing the lawn, cleaning your bedroom, or helping out with chores on the farm, where there is ALWAYS work to be done!
Summer means time at the lake, weddings and family reunions, rounds of golf, or heading to Mosaic Stadium, to catch the Saskatchewan Roughriders in action.
For my family, summer meant work on the farm, camping trips to Palliser Regional Park near Riverhurst, to Pike Lake and Candle Lake Provincial Parks, and one year, even out to the Rockies around Banff!
Summers meant having my best friends Shane and Randy, or my cousins Derek and Dustan out to spend weeks at a time at the farm or I’d go stay with them, and hijinks would ensue.
Maybe I’d go stay with Papa and Grandma Procknow at their farm at Lucky Lake.
Building forts in the tree strips around home. Public swimming (after swimming lessons) at the old swimming pool in Outlook. Raiding the raspberry patch in Mom’s garden. Riding bikes into town for popsicles at the store.
Plunking myself down in front of the TV to watch hours of the Summer Olympics.
Going to the Bounty Fair, where you’d see truck and tractor pulls, games of chance, the least safe midway ride ever built, heavy horse shows, delicious giant corn on the cob, the exhibit hall where our school art would be displayed and judged, and my brothers and I would even enter baking (and sometime even win first prize over some of the older ladies that had been baking for decades!)
And my birthday is in August, so I’d get to celebrate without having school get in the way! Of course, having a birthday party in the middle of the summer could be tricky, as many families would take a summer holiday, so some years, the parties were bigger than others!
As a kid, summer was so much fun. So much simpler.
I think we all wish we could go back to those days, right?
But now, as grown-ups, it’s a different perspective.
Maybe you’re a brand-new high school graduate, and you’re getting ready to head off to university or trade school, or enter the work force full-time, and there are new things you never had to worry about before, like having to find a place to live. Budgeting for bills, planning your school schedules around real-life responsibilities for the first time as an adult.
When we were kids, life seemed so carefree, and now, we’re the ones busy working, or planning vacations with our own families. We get to see the excitement of our kids, or our nieces and nephews, as they get their summers to explore. We get to experience the excitement of summer through their eyes.
Summer fun. Summer romance. Summers spending time with friends and family.
Just make sure that when you get caught up in the stresses and responsibilities of everyday life, that you leave room for some fun, a few cold beverages, and summer madness!
Comments