Summer Vacation

It’s June 23^rd, 2:30 pm.  I stack my papers, close my agenda, and make my way upstairs just in time.

“Mom!  We’re home!”  Vanessa yells as she barges through the front door.

“No school for two whole months!” Nick chants as he goes through the motions of his happy dance.

Wonderful! Here we are ready to embark on yet another summer vacation.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was getting them ready for their first day back to school, giddy with anticipation at having an entire six hours to work with no kids around?  Where did the time go?

Don’t get me wrong!  I love my kids, and it’s great having them around, but their full time presence does offer an extra challenge in my life as a work-at-home mom.  They don’t care that I have work to do and deadlines to meet – they have activities that are far more important!

With careful planning, it’s possible to spend time with the kids and get my work done.  It’s just a matter of setting up a new summer routine.  Instead of working my hours straight, I break up my work day into two or three separate periods.

I work best in the morning, so the kids and I have come to an understanding that they must keep themselves busy in the morning and let me work in peace.  Otherwise, I’ll find something to keep them busy…I can already picture them vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing toilets…Wait a minute…I’m daydreaming, again!

A  typical “summer vacation” day goes something like this.

I get up around 7:30 (a real treat compared to my usual 6:20), take a quick shower, dress, and of course, make the bed – have to set a good example for the kids, right?  Then I have breakfast with my two younger kids who are usually very early to rise while my teenager wastes away the glorious morning hours sleeping – no I am not jealous! 

“Okay, guys, if you’re done with breakfast go wash up and get dressed.”

“But, Mom, why do we have to wash up?” Nick whines.  “Aren’t we going in the pool?  You’ll make us shower tonight to wash off all the chlorine!”

“Okay, just get dressed…and make your beds.”

“Ah, Mom, do we have to?”

“Yes…then you keep busy and quiet.  I’m going down to my office to work.”

I can usually get in at least an hour of good work before I have to start playing referee.

“Vanessa, it’s my turn to play with the PS2!”

“Says who?”

“You’ve been playing for half an hour!  It’s my turn!”

“You can play when I get beat!”

“Mommy!!!”

“Vanessa, let you brother play for a while,” I yell from my office.

I hear some fussing, followed by some not so delicate trudging up the stairs, but quiet reigns once more, if I ignore the annoying sounds coming from the PS2.

Some time later, Nick goes back upstairs, and Vanessa comes back down.  We wouldn’t want to have them spend too much time in the same room now, would we?  Suddenly quiet is replaced by blaring music.

“Vanessa, turn that volume down!”

She turns it down a crack, shuffles over to my office, and shuts the door.  Okay…that works.  The noise is negligible, now; I can work with this.

I get back to work.  A knock on the door interrupts my train of thought.  Nick pops his head in.

“Mom, I’m bored!”

“Really! Let’s see…there are plenty of things to do around the house.  What would you prefer? Dusting? Vacuuming?”

He rolls his eyes and sighs.  “Never mind.  I think I’ll go outside for a while.”

Works every time!

“Good idea!  Get your sister to go with you and let me know if you get bored again.”

I glance at the clock – time to rouse the teenager. 

“Sabrina! Time to get up!” I say as I pull up the blinds and fill the room with sunlight.  She covers her head with the blankets.  I tug them away.  “Up! It’s late enough…and don’t forget to make your bed.”

“Ah, Mom, why do I have to make my bed every day, only to have to undo it again at night?”

“Because I said so…”  Isn’t it great to be able to say that!

I leave the grumpy teen and head back down to my office.  After a while, Nick clambers down the stairs and storms into my office.

“Mom, when’s lunch?  I’m starving!”

Right, lunch comes on a fixed schedule with kids in the house.  Can’t just grab a sandwich on the fly between tasks.

Lunchtime signals a shift in my work plan because after lunch, I open the pool so that the kids can swim.  This means that I have to be outdoors to play lifeguard, so I can’t be working in my basement office.  I alternate between pool time with the kids and paperwork that I do on the patio table while keeping an eye on them.  At the end of the afternoon, I close up the pool before going in to prepare dinner.  That time varies depending on the evening’s activities.  Some nights we have soccer, some nights we have karate (kids) or tae-bo (Rudy and I), and some nights we have NOTHING! So on some nights, dinner’s at 5:00, other nights at 5:30, and on free nights, we actually get to share a family meal when Rudy gets home from work.

When the evening’s activities are done and the kids are in bed - well, at least the one who still needs me to tuck him in – I sometimes go back to my office and do a couple more hours of work.  Otherwise, I keep busy with endless loads of laundry, ironing, cleaning, and so on.  I wouldn’t want to be just sitting around and relaxing during summer vacation now, would I?

Lucie Bouchard Antoniazzi works from home as a freelance writer, editor, and web designer while also pursuing a part-time career in engineering. She lives with her husband Rudy, and their three children, Sabrina, Vanessa, and Nicholas, in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Find out more about Lucie and her work by visiting her web site at www.luciebouchardantoniazzi.com.