You're Halfway There, Baby!

Ahhh, LEGO, if only it were this easy.

Summer time....

...if you quoted Gershwin when you finished that sentence, then you're kids have either left home or you were smart enough to think 'wait a minute...' when someone suggested having children.

For the rest of us, the good news is that we're a short four weeks away from the most wonderful time of the year: Back To School.

Sure, summer is great. You don't have to make lunches, you don't have to kick the kids out the door as the bus pulls to a stop, you don't have to field phone calls from three different teachers on the SAME DAY telling you your kids are idiots. But if, like most of us, today was the twentieth day in a row you were awakened at 6 am to the gentle voice of your 7-year-old telling you his brother has punched him in the face, summer can feel a lot like a prison sentence.

And the parole board will not be meeting again until 2025.

You've gone to the beach, you've had a picnic, you've taken them camping, you've signed up for Summer Reads at the library, you've taught wee Johnny to ride his bike, you've had playdates, you've turned your kitchen into a science lab and you've not even cracked the first book in your own summer reading list.

But there is strength in numbers. The next time precious Johnny spends thirty seconds outside and then complains that there's nothing to do (childhood myopia does not allow him to see the brand new trampoline he got for his birthday yesterday), remember you are not alone. All over this fine nation, parents just like you are 'x'ing off the days until the first day of school. Until then, breathe deeply, have a glass of wine and remember that no one but you cares if the clothes Johhny is wearing today are the exact same ones he was wearing on the last day of school.

Good luck.