Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Jenni Sebora Column – 06/14/10



Camp, baseball, softball, soccer, swimming, sprinklers, beaches, and sand castles. The “lazy” days of summer are here.

It is the first week of vacation for my children, and they have already participated in basketball camp the first week, with swimming lessons to follow the next week.

Camp for my middle daughter is mixed in there, too, with ball games in the evening every day of the week, except for Friday. And that is just the start of the “lazy” days of summer.

I do enjoy summer and the break from the regular routine; school papers, notes, and the morning rush. As parents, we should know better, to try and not break too much from the regular bed times and wake-up times, but there is some relief in allowing a bit of leniency in those bed time rituals.

My children are not late sleepers, a wake-up time of eight o’clock is “sleeping in.” But that certainly feels good sometimes. A relief from brushing our daughters’ heads of hair in the morning is very welcome by them and us (although we have passed this wonderful duty on to our 13-year-old son on many mornings; it just doesn’t seem to hurt as much if older brother tries to remove those snarls).

The request to stay up a little later to watch that special show of “iCarly” would not have been granted during the school year, but would be considered a privilege during summer break.

Requests to wash the vehicles (along with themselves) is a sure-fire sign that summer is really here, along with the annual river, dike, and dam building in the sand box/playground area. The river is now dry, but the river beds remain intact. And, of course, there will be fort building, rock skipping, berry picking and flashlight tag.

With summer vacation and longer days upon our children, it means more time in the sun, too. Sun screen, lip protection, maybe a hat or visor, and/or sunglasses will help protect our children from the harmful effects of the sun’s rays.

Many large department stores carry foam visors in their craft/art sections which your child can decorate their own visors for summertime wear using paint, glitter, sequins, stickers, etc. They are inexpensive, too. It’s a great activity for the kids during family get- togethers in the summer.

A few years ago, the kids in our extended family had a blast making and decorating visors on the Forth of July.

Enjoy these “lazy” days – it’s only three months until you can get your rest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.