Wherein I Stray from the Original Topic

I remember being a child, and the Cleveland summers spent at the pool, having lemonade stands, and playing in my neighborhood. When we were quite young, we had a babysitter. After a couple summers of supervision, my brother and I were on our own and we faired pretty well. I do not remember having my summer structured to the point that down time was a luxury. Structure was something reserved for the school year. I remember days being long and bright and full of self-entertainment. Now is the point in this post when I start to question (complain) the pressure I feel to have my children involved in so many activities that our summer schedule starts to resemble our school schedule, except for the fact that it costs more. I ask all my mommy buddies about what their children will do this summer. We share information about various camps- drama camp, Wolf Park Camp, swimming lessons, Girls Scout Camp, tennis lessons, YMCA camp, pottery camp, basketball camp. The possibilities are endless. So are the costs. It occurred to me that my parents barely had me in any structured activities in the summer aside from swimming lessons. Interestingly, I'm fairly certain that they had me in swimming so that they could drop me off at the pool or beach and be confident that I would not drown. No babysitter included. I entertained myself. My children are young, yes. They require supervision. The fact is, I am concerned that this need to constantly structure my children's time is resulting in them expecting me to entertain them...indoors and out. They need a darn instructor/teacher to give them details on the next event in their lives.

I wonder if I chose to opt out of structured activities for the summer (and the school year, for that matter), if my children would find a sense of freedom and joy in their daily activities that they are so far, unfamiliar with. I wonder if they would find long days full of sunshine where friends and trees and bugs are enough. Where they do not need a coach or a camp counselor or a teacher or even a hovering parent. Where their imagination does all the work. I wonder if I could find it within myself to not feel as though I am cheating my child by not involving them in every opportunity that comes their way. I wonder if I could swallow the guilt I inevitably feel when I learn that Little Johnny and Sallie Sue are taking such and such a lesson and thriving because of them, while my children are hanging in the backyard and playing freeze tag. I wonder if I can accept that I cannot give my children everything.

I fully realize that this pressure is in my head. Clearly, I have control of what my children are involved in. Regardless, "mommy guilt" creeps up on me and I have to weigh all of my options. When the weighing is over and I come to brass tacks on this particular brand of guilt, I have to opt in. At least in moderation. If I kept them in the house with me and left them to their own devices for the two and a half-month duration of summer, I would surely lose my mind. And that folks, is why there are so many option for children in the summer.