Summer

When I was a child, summer meant swimming lessons, endless days of playing outside with my neighborhood friends, occasional trips to pick up my dad at the yacht club where he worked (on days when my mom needed the car), and the occasional ride on what we thought of as "Daddy's boat." It was really the yacht club's launch which my dad drove to take people to their boats moored in the harbor, or to bring them back from their boats. If he had another run to do when we got there, and he had room for us, he would take us for a ride. we would also go to either the beach or the pond to swim when Dad got home from work. As I got a little older, I also enjoyed walking downtown with my sisters to buy ice cream cones at the drugstore, which had a soda and ice cream fountain.
In high school, my summers were enjoyable, but sometimes a little lonely because my closest high school friends lived in other towns and I did not see them as often as I did while I was in school. I still did things with my sisters when I could. I also began working the summer before I turned sixteen. When I was in college, I did not enjoy summer because I was working all the time and missed my college friends. When my children were small, summer meant splashing in the kiddie pool and sometimes a day trip with them and their dad. Once my kids were all in school, it meant sleeping a little later, a rest from homework and papers, and staying up a little later because we didn't have to get up for school. Now, especially since I'm working, it means I don't have to get up as early unless I have an early shift. It also means NOT having to worry about getting my kids to school every day, though I do have to think about getting some of them to work. In a summer like this one, when I have a child entering college, I don't want the summer to go by too quickly because I want to be sure that the college preparations are completed. I have noticed, over the past few years, that people seem to think summer is almost over right after the Fourth of July , when in reality, it's only two weeks into the summer. At this writing, it's July 13, but we still have five or six weeks before kids go back to school. Moreover, summer lasts till September 21! I don't want to ignore the rest of the summer as if there's nothing left, when we're only halfway through. I plan to enjoy it for as long as possible!

Book Review: A Guy's Guide to Life by Jason Boyett

A Guy's Guide to Life, by Jason Boyett and published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville Tennessee, 2010, provides practical, humorous, and timely advice for a teenage guy. The book covers everything from grooming to family to friends to development to intimacy to a relationship with God. Boyett's language is casual and appealing to teen guys, making the tips he gives appealing to the teen reader. This reader, a mom of six girls and ONE young adult guy, even gained some insight into how her son might be thinking! Boyett begins by breaking down the "Myths of Manhood," as he calls them. These myths are some of the societal stereotypes about men that can place undue pressure on a teen. He also discusses communication, family relationships, and women. He gives the teen guy some valuable understanding about how a woman or girl might think or feel. There is a tasteful chapter covering sex. This reader does recommend that the parent read through this chapter before giving it to their teen, as it could prove a springboard for discussing this topic with him. All in all, "A Guy's Guide to Life" is enjoyable, insightful, practical, and readable, even to this seemingly unlikely reader!