Summertime and the Living is Easy

Summer officially starts this week in the Sherwood family house.  One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is being in charge of my own schedule.  The children and I all enjoy having a nice, long summer vacation, so we work hard with just a few breaks during the school year and then enjoy having summer mostly off. 

Our pool got filled a few weeks ago when winter gave up the ghost and stepped aside for summer to quickly fill its place.  "I like spring," Brandon commented after the weather got into the upper eighties a week after it left the fifties, "all five days of it were nice."  

A lot of pools have heaters here because - despite being in the hundreds for two months straight - it cools down enough at night to keep the water a little chillier than is comfortable.  Our pool does not have a heater, so the children have been enjoying twenty-minute swims followed by half-hour warm-up sessions on the hot tiles surrounding the pool.  They insist the water is warm, but I don't believe them because every time I get in, an involuntary gasp escapes me as my body tells me that I'd better get out now before hypothermia sets in.

So this year I decided to solve my problem with the universal tool - money - and just offered to buy the pool heater myself because they are cheap enough that it's worth it to me to have a warm pool and just walk away from it when we leave.  We have done a lot of those upgrades to our house here because, apparently, my sanity seems to hinge an unreasonable amount on having my house set up just the way I like it.  So, for whoever gets this house next, you're welcome.

The children and I have worked out a summer schedule that seems to work for everyone.  In the morning, after doing chores and an hour of summer school work, everyone swims until lunch.  Our pool is sunny in the morning and shady in the afternoon and we all prefer to swim when it's sunny, so morning is the best time.  In the afternoon we have Russian lessons, various appointments, or household chores.  The children finish up whatever school work they didn't finish in the morning.  It's a schedule that works for everyone and we're all happy to be under a less demanding schedule for the summer.  

We're not traveling to the States this summer, so everyone is looking forward to a nice long summer of swimming, playing with friends, reading books, and relaxing a little bit.  I enjoy seeing family each summer, but I am really happy to just stay home and enjoy being here and not on trans-Atlantic flights.  Especially since I'll be spending all summer working on my baby belly.  There's nothing better than lazing around the pool when you're pregnant.

Summer has always been my favorite season and that hasn't changed even after living in the land of hot, hot summers.  Summer is when the fruit is fresh, delicious, and plentiful.  The evenings are warm and inviting, and socks and shoes are a distant memory of cold, dark times that we avoid thinking about.  I'm happy that this summer is the polar opposite of last summer, and I intend to enjoy it to its fullest.  Welcome, summer!