Okay. I know. I know that the whole “3 months off” thing is a bit of myth. First of all, with wrapping up the year and then going to fall workshops, it’s not even close to 3 months. Second, teachers work in the summer. Maybe a second job, maybe doing curriculum planning. I know that most of you are not going to be sitting in a hammock drinking lemonade everyday for the next 10 weeks.
But seriously. It’s summer. Let’s not kid ourselves here. It’s wonderful.
The new rhythms of slower days. Quiet. Reading for pleasure. Sleep. Fishing. You know. SUMMER!
Personally, I’m in my third year of no longer having “summer vacation.” I lived 29 consecutive years with an academic calendar. My internal clock is still set to a school year. But on Monday morning, the first day my two boys start their summer, I’m heading to work.
When I taught, the first few weeks of summer were always strange. They were marked by what was a sort of annual two week depression. I think the energy shift involved in gearing down from 9 months of teaching was always too extreme for me. I was used to being surround by hundreds of loud, funny, entertaining, and amazing students and colleagues. And then summer would show up and things were quiet. And I never quite knew what to do with myself. My wife came to understand that this two week doldrum was both annual and somehow necessary.
There is always a bit of mourning going on as well. Graduation marks saying good bye to a whole group of students. The end of the year inevitably brings retiring or exiting co-workers. And somehow between the emotional high of the end of the year and the beginning of summer, I could never fall into a natural middle space. I kind of had to bottom out before I could let myself start to enjoy lazier days.
So to all of you starting your summers, I wish for you nothing more than good reading, sound sleep, healthy reflection, laughter, and most of all – the hope that comes with good thoughts of the year to come.
As for me? I’ll be at my desk on Monday if you need to reach me.
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