I know this is hard to see, but I saw this in Sunday's paper and thought it defined the "love/hate" relationship that I have with summer.
#1 reason I love summer--Kid Time! I love spending the extra time with my kids and the slower pace in the summer. During the school year we are usually so busy that it's hard to spend as much family time as I'd like.
#1 reason I dislike summer--Kid time! I LOVE my kids, but they are so used to being so busy with school and sports that they have a hard time doing nothing during the summer. We have a lot of fun together swimming, going to the drive-in, the library, etc., but it's hard to keep them entertained all of the time.
#2 reason I love summer--the decrease in laundry! We spend most of our mornings in swim suits and then come home to shorts and t-shirts. There are no sweatshirts or jeans. And my family knows the worst part about laundry for me is matching socks! I love flip flop season!
#3 reason I love summer--less kitchen time! I love using the grill and taking it all outside. I use "not wanting to heat up the house" as an excuse...really I just enjoy letting Mark do the cooking! It's nothing fancy, but I didn't have to cook it!
#2 reason I dislike summer--cleaning time. I cannot survive in a messy house! The clutter makes me crazy, and so all summer long all I do is pick up after the kids. I don't really get the deep down cleaning done unless there is the threat of company. It's so hard for me to just let it go a little bit in the summer, but I'm learning. That would probably be my kids' one complaint about summer--that I'm more strict about the chores and keeping their rooms picked up. This summer I have instigated the "20-minute tidy" and the girls have to spend 20 minutes cleaning anything they want almost every day. They even set the timer!!
And as for the "Me time", who are we kidding! My "me time" is spent with my kids enjoying the lazy days of summer. I have read some books this summer, including Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Fabulous!