I don’t like school. I don’t like getting up before the sun every morning, rushing in a mad dash to beat the clock to be on time for the first bell. I don’t like homework. I don’t like school projects. I don’t like the structure that comes with school days. No, this is not my child saying this, it’s  a grown up me saying this. Don’t misunderstand, I know the value of a good education and am thankful we still live in a country that can provide our children with one. And I admire my school teacher friends; there is no way I could do what they do. But my soul is that of a gypsy, and gypsies long for freedom; now it is May and I can see a light. The light shows me days of less structure. It shows me less hectic mornings when I can awaken while the sun is up instead of in the dark pre-dawn of day. And the light promises days of impulsiveness and a more carefree life, if only for a few short months. It reminds me of many of my childhood summer days spent outside playing for hours with my sister and neighborhood friends, our hair wet with perspiration and our faces red from exertion and Louisiana summer heat! Our imaginations took us everywhere. Our bodies survived on lunches of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and water from the water hose. If we got hurt playing, it had to be a really bad injury for us to go inside and tell Mom, because we just knew she would make us stay indoors; there were too many Cowboys and Indians out there for us to be held captive inside four walls.

Over the years, our world has changed and summer has changed for our children.  Not many play outside as we did. Their days are spent indoors playing a gaming system, texting or face timing on their phones. Many parents have to work and they try to find camps, lessons and other organized activities to fill their children’s summer days. But no matter what the evolution of summer has become, it is still a time for children to free their minds and open up their imagination. Summer is a time for family vacations. It is a time to make memories that will last a lifetime. The lazy days of summer are called that for a reason, and it does not necessarily mean to lie around and do nothing. There is a bit of gypsy in all of us and summertime allows us days and moments to explore our gypsy soul by opening our minds to the creative part of us. Follow the light and enjoy the summer days; we will only pass this way once.