Summer Plans

Having a husband who works in the school system means I still ask (and get asked) the question, "Any fun summer plans?" While I wouldn't necessarily call our summer plans "fun" (except for the trip to visit emily!), they certainly are interesting.

For the past four summers, Chuck has worked at a summer camp, and he has four t-shirts to prove it. For those of you from Utah, summer camps are HUGE out here. These are all-day, all-summer events that cost a lot of money (which is why none of our kids will ever attend one). But he hasn't really loved the job. The kids are too young for his taste (he's a high school teacher for a reason) and he certainly would have chosen to stay home all four of those summers, had I let him.

When we looked at this summer, we saw two choices. Choice One: I keep my two-day-a-week schedule and Chuck goes back to camp. Choice Two: I do full-time work and Chuck stays at home. Financially, it's a wash. Without paying a babysitter or Chuck's tithing and doubling my income, it's the same. So we thought, let's give Choice One a go! I'll work full-time, doing one day a week at home. (Five days on the Metro?! Way too much for me.) Chuck will stay at home with Rhett, becoming my very own Mr. Mom.

My feelings about this are all over the map. I'm excited that Chuck will become much more acquainted with the chore chart than he's ever been. I'm excited that Chuck will learn how un-fun it is to grocery shop with a one-year-old. I'm excited that he'll learn that our baby is the cutest baby on the planet, nay, in the universe (which, of course, he already knows but what better testimony builder, right?). However, I dread leaving my little man four days a week. I dread riding on the Metro eight times a week. I dread trying to fit in my running.

But if it's successful, I have high hopes for repeating this each summer. I imagine the summers being times when the kids are excited to spend time with Dad. I imagine summers where I get to stay inside a cool air-conditioned building (Chuck deals with humidity far better than I) and come home to hot meals and a happy family.

If it's not successful, well, it's only nine weeks. And one of those weeks I'll be spending a couple of days at girls camp (maybe that's what I should truly be dreading!). Another one of those weeks we'll be spending in Colorado with my beloved sister. It's only 30 total days. I can do this, right?! RIGHT?!

Yes, I think this summer will be incredibly hard for both of us. I also think it will be a great experience for both of my boys. But I'm 99% sure that come August 24th, we'll both be ready for a return to our regularly-scheduled lives.