Is it really only Wednesday? The first full week of summer holidays and we have been busy making hay while the sun shines and the humidex is 42 degrees. 42! Oh Toronto, you can be so hard to love. With the asphalt in the driveway softening beneath our feet I was sure tennis camp would be canceled, but the Russian matron who runs the program informed me (I swear with a hint of mockery) that tennis players - even seven-year old ones - are a tough breed. Camp is on. Which is good for us because I've discovered that the key to keeping my lot happy is to always be busy and, ideally, to have other kids around. In addition to morning tennis camp we've mixed it up with neighbourhood kids, school chums and family friends, chez nous, because we have a pool. A huge turquoise 1970s rectangle that has absolutely no redeeming aesthetic quality. Nothing. Zip. Zero. It's hopelessly out of scale with the yard. It's perilously close to the house one one side and you have to do an awkward sidestep lest you take an unintended dip while carrying a tray of barbeque fixings. Ahem. I admit that I have a love-hate relationship with my big blue rectangle - except when it is 42 degrees outside - and then it's the best pool. Ever. And thus with a trail of wet footprints on the floor, a succession of wet bottoms on dining room chairs and endless rounds of Freezie tube snipping, I have been running a small, noisy and highly unprofitable day camp for the past week. But everyone tumbles into bed with warm skin and wild hair smelling of chlorine and sunshine and I wouldn't have life any other way.
Teri, of KuKuNest and
Giddy Giddy, has written a lovely
family mission statement centred on seeing the world together. It's wonderful food for thought, even if travelling to the far reaches of the world isn't on your agen
da. I especially liked this thought:
"Throughout the year we remind ourselves and our girls that we are saving up for our next family adventure. Things like newer cars, home remodels, newer appliances, shiny toys, etc all take a back seat to the more enduring family memories that we forge yearly."
In that spirit, I declare a truce on homely swimming pools, vinyl kitchen floors and worn-out dining room chairs. Happy summer.
