Really enjoyed the Ballad of Wallis Island! Watched it in tiny quaint cinema here in Lynton (around 50 seats, staffed by volunteers) with American friend who (mostly) got the British humour 🤣
Edward Lear and Richard Scarry in one post! So fun! I wrote a paper on Lear for a Victorian Poetry class in my undergrad exploring his often fraught personal life alongside his nonsense verse. He's a favorite for sure. I'm having my kids memorize some of his limericks this year.
About summer expectations versus reality, I majorly struggled with romanticized expectations through adolescence and in my twenties, but my children really have shifted my perspective. The squeeze on time and energy makes me see little things as a gift, but also my kids' out-of-proportion joy is a lesson to me. We spent a few days in the mountains this summer (my happy place), and I read and hiked less than I wanted to (instead I kept vigilantly swiping gravel out of the baby's mouth and stayed home with the sulky kid whose feet hurt and didn't want to hike.) But I did read and hike some! And I got to see my kids' wild joy over splashing around in a creek and eating hot dogs and smores and playing board games in the cabin. I think those few days will probably dominate a lot of my feelings about this summer when I look back, which is a gift.
It was so interesting to me to learn that his life was fraught - kind of like so many comedians of our day. Humour is a good coping mechanism, I guess! When you have time to write, I'd love a post where you share more about which poems you have your kids memorize and how you approach it. One of my veteran homeschool friends does it with all her kids and it's awesome.
How beautiful that you can focus on the good moments of joy - I'm sure that's what your kids will remember, too: the summer of hot dogs and smores and board games... now that I think of it, maybe there were only some moments like that in my own childhood but they are what stand out? It's a nice thought!
That’s a really good point about comedians today. Ah poetry. Haha I thought way too much about choosing selections this year, so I probably could write at length about it. I do think it’s important to carry weighty words to live by in your head all the time that you can summon up when things get tough. But I try to mix in the ridiculous like Prelutsky and Lear because there’s nothing sweeter than hearing my kids giggle over funny poems.
A friend of mine said she was reminiscing with her mom about baking cookies as a kid and her mom was like, “We did that one time!” Important memories (good or bad) do get magnified over time!
I loved this Kerri! And thank you for the shout-out, I'm honored :) I love Richard Scarry books, they're so sweet - and I love the joyfully eccentric drawings you highlighted. I haven't heard of the film you mentioned - very intrigued, definitely going to look into it.
Thanks, Katie! Actually I thought of you when I was writing about that film, actually - I think you'd love the setting and indie vibe (but not so indie I couldn't understand it, lol).
"Joyfully eccentric" is such a perfect description!
This was so fun! I love chit chat on a page! 😊 I think we went through multiple copies of every single Richard Scarry book out there. I secretly wanted a Pickle Car in the worst way!
Footnote 1 articulates my thoughts exactly when I hear that phrase. :')
We also have quite a collection of Richard Scarry books, but I'm sad that they have all gotten so beat up and raggedy over the few years we've had them in this house!! But they are looked at alllll the time. Good visual humor, and details upon details.
I suppose my expectations vs. reality two-cents with summer is that I've come to expect summer is just like any other time of the year. Since this week(!) actually is the first time we're dipping into formal schooling for our eldest, the summers have always looked like the rest of the year.... just with more outdoor activities. We haven't even done proper vacations since becoming parents, as we usually use time off for visiting with out-of-state family, not going on trips as a nuclear unit with many littles. At least not yet.
Well I guess beat-up books are a sign of love! And maybe an excuse for buying more copies ;)
We have found that using holiday time for (in our case) overseas trips is a mixed thing: it’s wonderful to see people, but it’s not something I come back from very well rested (jet lag and I do not get along), and it’s not something where we feel like it’s our time. So in recent years we have also gone away, just us. And it’s awesome- highly recommend if possible.
I love casual chatty posts like this, Kerri! Some of my favorite Substackers are those who send out a mix of formal and informal writing. Here for all of it!
Loved reading this! I'd say for me summer has been a mismatch between expectations (my own, unrealistically high) and reality. I've 'told' myself I was going to do certain things and have not done them. Acceptance is hard!
I love the fun books you bought. Edward Lear is in some of our children's poetry books and I so appreciate his silliness. Fellow "booklegger" here - still home educating, and now 2 grandchildren that come visit often, so those are good 'excuses' for buying more books. :-)
Thank you, Melisa! It’s so hard to accept that my own expectations are just really unrealistic. This summer I’ve had to say no to a lot of things in order to maintain my own peace but that tension is tough!
Any excuse to buy more books is a good one, but having grandchildren over is great! Think of how you are shaping the future generation :)
I definitely feel the weird summer as a mismatch of expectation vs. reality, tension. I think that has been compounded for me by the fact that my husband has tended to work jobs that are precisely mis-aligned with the academic calendar and so summer tends to mean long days. We're gradually working through it, but honestly being off of Instagram helps my discontent quite a bit because I don't get the impression that everyone else is living their best life. I suspect for *most* people summer is a mix of exhilarating fun for a day or evening, mixed with a lot of slightly overheated boredom and whining.
I am going to hunt for that Richard Scarry book right now! It would be a fun alphabet add-in for a kid, plus I love Richard Scarry. The illustrations are amazing.
Gosh yes that would be so strange to have summer actually be prime work time. Would you ever adjust your calendar for homeschool etc so that you mostly work through the summer and then take a longer break other times of year?
The illustrations of Richard Scarry can be another cause of mismatch between expectations and reality, lol, at least for me! Such happy people all doing manual labour and owning shops and no one stressed out about what’s for dinner or how to pay the grocery bills 😅… all the adults like their jobs… at least they are still loads of fun to look at!
I grew up in a family where summer was considered prime work time (my dad owned his own business and summer was his busy season, think 80 hour weeks) in an area where tourism was a large part of the local economy. These two facts meant most of my earliest jobs were seasonal; before I was old enough to work for my dad I picked raspberries, scooped ice cream, and babysat for the children of tourists. I joke now that it's against my religion to travel on any of the three American summer holidays because I hate the crowds! I think this gives my experience and expectations of summer a unique flavor; I've never experienced it as anything other than a busy and physically demanding time, but I see it as distinct from the strict schedule of the academic year. And my work as an adult has a seasonal aspect to it (I'm a civil engineer and spent part of my day today on a construction site) so I guess I am built to see summer as a time for both fun AND to use those long days as time to make (metaphorical) hay while the sun shines.
Oh that’s really interesting! I can see how a childhood like that would really shape your expectations as an adult. I always had summer jobs from probably age 10 or 11, but they were always fun for me- babysitting or stuffing envelopes sorts of things.
When I got an engineering internship in college it was a real adjustment to see Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day as days off instead of days for double shifts 😆
We thought about making that adjustment, and if we lived in a vacuum it might make sense, but then you run into the larger community doing school at "normal" times, and so it's a little bit of a catch 22. It ended up working out better than I expected, we were just busy in a different sort of way. I find that as a homeschool mom I really need solid time off in the summer to be a person, and that because of chores and daily life we didn't lose too much structure? I know other families who really work better when they do some school year round, but that idea does not work for ME, haha! I need a break to want to do it again.
"I need a break to want to do it again" - I really need to sit with this idea, not for home education in my case, but maybe with some other things. Maybe one of the things I'm missing about summer is the intentional step away from not only work but the general rhythm of life? I was on an academic calendar for nearly 30 years, so... yeah.
I do think there’s something to this. I have noticed that my pattern is to want nothing to do with anything for a month, then I start mulling, then I make decisions, then I feel SUPER overwhelmed by the decisions, then we start before I’m ready and it’s usually just fine. The one summer I worked on curriculum for our co-op all summer long I felt horrible going into the school year and quit our co-op at semester because I couldn’t deal. This is especially true of years when I have a small baby. I read so much fiction this summer, spent a lot of time in my garden, got to be a person and let my kids do a lot of who knows what, and it was good for us all. So I think it may depend on the family, but I think the break (really it’s just very different type of work) is good for us.
I really like Richard Scarry's depictions of idyllic walkable communities in his books. There's one image in particular I have in mind where there's a town with a school and church and neighbors and workers doing their thing all within view, like my absolute dream. And then reality hits. lol
Kerri, this was a delightful read! And yes, I also enjoy the chit-chat type of blogging, but would only take the time to read it if it is by people whom I have already connected with. I was just saying to Peco this morning, "how do these people on Substack find the time to read and write so much?" I have a full-time life happening around me and can't dive into all these long reads and think pieces while still trying to read a book on the side! Love the Lear book which I only just discovered a couple of years ago as well. Yesterday I brought home a collection of Norwegian folk tales ( East O' the Sun, West O' the Moon) and an entire Madeline collection.
Growing up in Switzerland, I was used to the six weeks of summer holiday and found the three months in NA a bit excessive. That being said, I do enjoy the beach days, the bike rides, the visits to cafes, and all the other nice little highlights in addition to our summer travels.
Thanks for the mention and it was a delight to start my morning with a bit of chit-chat. Thanks Kerri :)
Thank you, Ruth! I feel the same about Substack and real life! There are many days when I just cannot manage a long read in addition to actually living life- cooking, dishes, laundry, people, work… and of course, books! I’m trying to start what I finish these days.
How interesting that you went from 6 weeks to 3 months and found it a bit long- I would much rather go in that direction, I think! I’m trying to scheme up how I could manage a 3 month summer next year… :)
Really enjoyed the Ballad of Wallis Island! Watched it in tiny quaint cinema here in Lynton (around 50 seats, staffed by volunteers) with American friend who (mostly) got the British humour 🤣
Edward Lear and Richard Scarry in one post! So fun! I wrote a paper on Lear for a Victorian Poetry class in my undergrad exploring his often fraught personal life alongside his nonsense verse. He's a favorite for sure. I'm having my kids memorize some of his limericks this year.
About summer expectations versus reality, I majorly struggled with romanticized expectations through adolescence and in my twenties, but my children really have shifted my perspective. The squeeze on time and energy makes me see little things as a gift, but also my kids' out-of-proportion joy is a lesson to me. We spent a few days in the mountains this summer (my happy place), and I read and hiked less than I wanted to (instead I kept vigilantly swiping gravel out of the baby's mouth and stayed home with the sulky kid whose feet hurt and didn't want to hike.) But I did read and hike some! And I got to see my kids' wild joy over splashing around in a creek and eating hot dogs and smores and playing board games in the cabin. I think those few days will probably dominate a lot of my feelings about this summer when I look back, which is a gift.
It was so interesting to me to learn that his life was fraught - kind of like so many comedians of our day. Humour is a good coping mechanism, I guess! When you have time to write, I'd love a post where you share more about which poems you have your kids memorize and how you approach it. One of my veteran homeschool friends does it with all her kids and it's awesome.
How beautiful that you can focus on the good moments of joy - I'm sure that's what your kids will remember, too: the summer of hot dogs and smores and board games... now that I think of it, maybe there were only some moments like that in my own childhood but they are what stand out? It's a nice thought!
That’s a really good point about comedians today. Ah poetry. Haha I thought way too much about choosing selections this year, so I probably could write at length about it. I do think it’s important to carry weighty words to live by in your head all the time that you can summon up when things get tough. But I try to mix in the ridiculous like Prelutsky and Lear because there’s nothing sweeter than hearing my kids giggle over funny poems.
A friend of mine said she was reminiscing with her mom about baking cookies as a kid and her mom was like, “We did that one time!” Important memories (good or bad) do get magnified over time!
I loved this Kerri! And thank you for the shout-out, I'm honored :) I love Richard Scarry books, they're so sweet - and I love the joyfully eccentric drawings you highlighted. I haven't heard of the film you mentioned - very intrigued, definitely going to look into it.
Thanks, Katie! Actually I thought of you when I was writing about that film, actually - I think you'd love the setting and indie vibe (but not so indie I couldn't understand it, lol).
"Joyfully eccentric" is such a perfect description!
This was so fun! I love chit chat on a page! 😊 I think we went through multiple copies of every single Richard Scarry book out there. I secretly wanted a Pickle Car in the worst way!
Thanks, Denise! A pickle car! What a dream. Maybe the Lord will grant us such joys on the new earth? :)
Footnote 1 articulates my thoughts exactly when I hear that phrase. :')
We also have quite a collection of Richard Scarry books, but I'm sad that they have all gotten so beat up and raggedy over the few years we've had them in this house!! But they are looked at alllll the time. Good visual humor, and details upon details.
I suppose my expectations vs. reality two-cents with summer is that I've come to expect summer is just like any other time of the year. Since this week(!) actually is the first time we're dipping into formal schooling for our eldest, the summers have always looked like the rest of the year.... just with more outdoor activities. We haven't even done proper vacations since becoming parents, as we usually use time off for visiting with out-of-state family, not going on trips as a nuclear unit with many littles. At least not yet.
Well I guess beat-up books are a sign of love! And maybe an excuse for buying more copies ;)
We have found that using holiday time for (in our case) overseas trips is a mixed thing: it’s wonderful to see people, but it’s not something I come back from very well rested (jet lag and I do not get along), and it’s not something where we feel like it’s our time. So in recent years we have also gone away, just us. And it’s awesome- highly recommend if possible.
I love casual chatty posts like this, Kerri! Some of my favorite Substackers are those who send out a mix of formal and informal writing. Here for all of it!
Thank you, Danielle! That’s really kind and good to hear- I really like the mix, too :)
Loved reading this! I'd say for me summer has been a mismatch between expectations (my own, unrealistically high) and reality. I've 'told' myself I was going to do certain things and have not done them. Acceptance is hard!
I love the fun books you bought. Edward Lear is in some of our children's poetry books and I so appreciate his silliness. Fellow "booklegger" here - still home educating, and now 2 grandchildren that come visit often, so those are good 'excuses' for buying more books. :-)
Thank you, Melisa! It’s so hard to accept that my own expectations are just really unrealistic. This summer I’ve had to say no to a lot of things in order to maintain my own peace but that tension is tough!
Any excuse to buy more books is a good one, but having grandchildren over is great! Think of how you are shaping the future generation :)
I definitely feel the weird summer as a mismatch of expectation vs. reality, tension. I think that has been compounded for me by the fact that my husband has tended to work jobs that are precisely mis-aligned with the academic calendar and so summer tends to mean long days. We're gradually working through it, but honestly being off of Instagram helps my discontent quite a bit because I don't get the impression that everyone else is living their best life. I suspect for *most* people summer is a mix of exhilarating fun for a day or evening, mixed with a lot of slightly overheated boredom and whining.
I am going to hunt for that Richard Scarry book right now! It would be a fun alphabet add-in for a kid, plus I love Richard Scarry. The illustrations are amazing.
Gosh yes that would be so strange to have summer actually be prime work time. Would you ever adjust your calendar for homeschool etc so that you mostly work through the summer and then take a longer break other times of year?
The illustrations of Richard Scarry can be another cause of mismatch between expectations and reality, lol, at least for me! Such happy people all doing manual labour and owning shops and no one stressed out about what’s for dinner or how to pay the grocery bills 😅… all the adults like their jobs… at least they are still loads of fun to look at!
I grew up in a family where summer was considered prime work time (my dad owned his own business and summer was his busy season, think 80 hour weeks) in an area where tourism was a large part of the local economy. These two facts meant most of my earliest jobs were seasonal; before I was old enough to work for my dad I picked raspberries, scooped ice cream, and babysat for the children of tourists. I joke now that it's against my religion to travel on any of the three American summer holidays because I hate the crowds! I think this gives my experience and expectations of summer a unique flavor; I've never experienced it as anything other than a busy and physically demanding time, but I see it as distinct from the strict schedule of the academic year. And my work as an adult has a seasonal aspect to it (I'm a civil engineer and spent part of my day today on a construction site) so I guess I am built to see summer as a time for both fun AND to use those long days as time to make (metaphorical) hay while the sun shines.
Oh that’s really interesting! I can see how a childhood like that would really shape your expectations as an adult. I always had summer jobs from probably age 10 or 11, but they were always fun for me- babysitting or stuffing envelopes sorts of things.
When I got an engineering internship in college it was a real adjustment to see Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day as days off instead of days for double shifts 😆
We thought about making that adjustment, and if we lived in a vacuum it might make sense, but then you run into the larger community doing school at "normal" times, and so it's a little bit of a catch 22. It ended up working out better than I expected, we were just busy in a different sort of way. I find that as a homeschool mom I really need solid time off in the summer to be a person, and that because of chores and daily life we didn't lose too much structure? I know other families who really work better when they do some school year round, but that idea does not work for ME, haha! I need a break to want to do it again.
"I need a break to want to do it again" - I really need to sit with this idea, not for home education in my case, but maybe with some other things. Maybe one of the things I'm missing about summer is the intentional step away from not only work but the general rhythm of life? I was on an academic calendar for nearly 30 years, so... yeah.
I do think there’s something to this. I have noticed that my pattern is to want nothing to do with anything for a month, then I start mulling, then I make decisions, then I feel SUPER overwhelmed by the decisions, then we start before I’m ready and it’s usually just fine. The one summer I worked on curriculum for our co-op all summer long I felt horrible going into the school year and quit our co-op at semester because I couldn’t deal. This is especially true of years when I have a small baby. I read so much fiction this summer, spent a lot of time in my garden, got to be a person and let my kids do a lot of who knows what, and it was good for us all. So I think it may depend on the family, but I think the break (really it’s just very different type of work) is good for us.
I really like Richard Scarry's depictions of idyllic walkable communities in his books. There's one image in particular I have in mind where there's a town with a school and church and neighbors and workers doing their thing all within view, like my absolute dream. And then reality hits. lol
Right?!! Same 😅
Kerri, this was a delightful read! And yes, I also enjoy the chit-chat type of blogging, but would only take the time to read it if it is by people whom I have already connected with. I was just saying to Peco this morning, "how do these people on Substack find the time to read and write so much?" I have a full-time life happening around me and can't dive into all these long reads and think pieces while still trying to read a book on the side! Love the Lear book which I only just discovered a couple of years ago as well. Yesterday I brought home a collection of Norwegian folk tales ( East O' the Sun, West O' the Moon) and an entire Madeline collection.
Growing up in Switzerland, I was used to the six weeks of summer holiday and found the three months in NA a bit excessive. That being said, I do enjoy the beach days, the bike rides, the visits to cafes, and all the other nice little highlights in addition to our summer travels.
Thanks for the mention and it was a delight to start my morning with a bit of chit-chat. Thanks Kerri :)
Thank you, Ruth! I feel the same about Substack and real life! There are many days when I just cannot manage a long read in addition to actually living life- cooking, dishes, laundry, people, work… and of course, books! I’m trying to start what I finish these days.
How interesting that you went from 6 weeks to 3 months and found it a bit long- I would much rather go in that direction, I think! I’m trying to scheme up how I could manage a 3 month summer next year… :)
Our children & now our grandchildren love the Richard Scarry books.
They’re really fun, aren’t they!