Hooky Time
June 9, 2008
Well, I guess if the summer switch has been flipped, it’s time to partake in the summer fun. And so it has been: biking, swimming, kayaking, swimming, hiking, swimming and a heaping helping of playing hooky. Ah yes, hooky.
We’ve got a peculiar little tradition in our household this time of year. You see, we’ve got a very outdoorsy ten-year old daughter. And the thought of making her go to school on ridiculously hot June days is more than either of us parental units can handle. I don’t know about you, but when I was a young lad in Georgia and Iowa, we didn’t go to school in June. Better yet, we didn’t start school in August, either. The months of June, July, and August were the three untouchable months, no school and all play.
I’m not sure what’s changed but those days seem to be long over – at least here in Vermont. Our daughter’s school – Doty Memorial in Worcester – starts in late August and doesn’t release them until June 20th (!) this year. Sorry, but that’s a crime against childhood.
I’m not sure what the modern school mentality is trying to achieve by keeping the kids locked up for longer and longer periods of time. If they’re trying to make them smarter, I’m not seeing the evidence of that. It’s also certainly not making them fitter since the kids now only have a little over eight weeks to totally and completely be kids. Been to a school function of late? Notice the girth? Well, damn it, let the kids be kids all summer instead of making them sit in steamy school buildings on gorgeous summer days like today.
So let’s get back to our little tradition. It goes like this: Our daughter gets three “Get Out of School Free” coupons that she can use in the month of June. And the rules are simple: If her mother or I can switch our work schedules around to accommodate some hooky, she can present her card and – viola! – it’s all play and no school for the day.
Well, coupon number one was played today. I knew it was coming when I noticed her listening intently to the weather while we were eating breakfast. All she really had to hear was “hot and humid” and out came the coupon. Rearrange my schedule? Sure. She did need a chaperone, you know? It’s my duty.
And so it was, a dad and daughter day of swimming, picnicking, trying to tire out the puppy and flinging our nose at the heat and the responsibilities that surrounded us. Ha! Take that, fate!
But we did learn at least one thing today: Our dog seems to be tuning out his genetic heritage as a Labrador retriever. Instead of retrieving sticks from the pond, he stands and watches them float from the shoreline – a characteristic I’ve never experienced in a lab. So my daughter decided that we should call him a “Labrador observer,” instead. Works for me.
Enough learning. We’ve got more play to do.
Welcome to summer, my friends – finally.
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You know…I figured out that Hillary should take that 3 month retreat and then come back to do her own sort of combination Oprah/Martha Stewart show. But now there’s you, back from retreat, so who needs Hil. Hope you get her to guest-blog sometime. Like to hear some stories about little Chelsea:
“You know how it is, Michael, trying to raise a child and become dictator at the same time.”
“I hear your liberal ass, bitch. It just goes to show that even the very best of us have something in common with you fucked-up establishment Nazi power-mad shits. How is Chealsea doing, anyway?”
“Oh, as a mother I’m concerned, because she’s been getting these very strange anonymous poems from someone who I think is at least Bill’s age. Oh, I don’t know. Goddamn kids. Fuck ‘em. Let’s bake some cookies, Michael.”
“OK. I’ll show you a recipe my daughter taught me.”
“Ohh…ummm. How absolutely delightful. Then you can give me those lessons on Snarky-blogging you mentioned.”
“Right on, yuppie bitch.”
only 3? i have known you how many years and during that time when have you not been able to adjust your ” schedule” ?
Hmm, sounds like Petey’s been in the sun a bit too long. May I suggest the Winooski, Pete? You know, that body of water you can see from your office…
As for Boots — ahem, I mean “mentor,” — my schedule wouldn’t permit me to join the World Naked Bike Ride in Montpelier on Saturday. Oh wait, that wasn’t my schedule, that was a deep yearning to avoid having to see your naked ass on a bike seat. And, no, I’m not accepting your invitation to ride a tandem bike with you in it next year. Well, maybe. We’ll see…as long as I’m in the front.
How’s the water @ Curtis, ya lazy bastard.
Yo Jack, the water at Curtis is what my research has concluded to be the perfect compromise between the warmer water at Wrightsville (at least the water that your brother will allow others to use) and the cooler water in the North Branch. But, then again, there’s also been the water at Lake Elmore and the water in the pond in Walden. Oh my, so much research, so little time….
Dude, we need to rock. Dust off that guitar, ya workin’ fool.