Rant #923: Here Comes Summer

Summertime is just around the corner.

Wait, we aren't out of winter yet, but will soon be.

People are preparing for the summer, even in the cold weather.

Yesterday, in my neck of the woods, we got some snow, which was washed away with rain.

But my thoughts still are on summer.

Spring training is winding down, and you know that when you hear the crack of the bat, summer is really just around the corner.

For my family, summer is going to be quite different this year.

We planned on taking our usual summer vacation to Florida, but our plans may have changed now that my son secured a summer job.

Yes, my son is going to be working, and making a paycheck, this summer.

He is going to be working at the day camp he went to as a camper for about 10 years, from the age of 5 up to when he was 15.

He really enjoyed that camp, and he is going to be the arcade room assistant, basically meaning that he will be working in the camp's game room this summer.

That is good. He worked the last two summers as a volunteer counselor at our school system's day camp, and while I think he liked it to a certain degree, he didn't get paid.

Now, for the first time in his life, he will be making some money. Not much, but something.

This throws a monkey wrench into our summer plans, though.

There really is no one to watch him during the time that we would normally go away, and even if we find someone to watch him, he can't go with us, as the job is for the two-month period that the camp is open.

So unless we find someone to stay with him when he is home, my wife and I are sunk; we can't go away.

We are trying to entice my daughter to stay with him. She is a teacher at a local education center for young children, right in the community, so she would be about five minutes away from work if she were to stay over the week that we would like to be away.

We have proposed this to her, given her some enticements, and she is going to let us know next week what her decision is.

I hope she says yes.

Look, this vacation, if we have it, will be a difficult one. It will be the first time my wife and I have ever taken a vacation without our son. It was hard enough not going with my daughter when she bowed out of coming with us years ago, but now we have the prospect of going without him, and while I am OK with it, my wife is understandably hesitant, but it is a day we knew was going to happen eventually.

Whether we have to stay home or we can actually go on vacation, really, that is a minor point here.

The major point, and the point that my wife and I are so proud of, is that our son finally got a summer job, no mean feat in this lousy economy that we are in.

He tries very hard at just about everything he goes after, and we are very happy that he got this job.

He is a good kid, and deserves this.

Now, I will be able to say that both my son and daughter are gainfully employed, even if my son's situation lasts just two months. It will be worth giving up our vacation to see him working.

And it will help him in the future when he looks for more permanent work.

So here comes summer. We are ready for it, raring to go, and my annual picture of Annette Funicello in her beach wear might just have to be postponed this year.

And again, it will be worth it.