School is back in session and autumn schedules are commencing. It’s still warm around here but our skies are hazy from surrounding wildfires. Fall is here and so I’m offering up one final post of summer highlights.
Our summer was full and wonderful and went by far too quickly. Some years, by the time September rolls around, I am ready to return to this more scheduled period. But this year I found myself reluctant to move on from summer. We’ll miss the days of lax bedtimes and sunshine late into the evenings.
We did a lot this summer – camping, hiking, road trip, more camping. We worked our time around my job schedule which meant that often when we were at home on the Sunshine Coast, I was at work. On my time off we were often trying to fit in a trip or a visit.
So here’s a bunch of stuff we did:
We enjoyed the annual Rod Run and Show ‘n’ Shine of classics cars.
We made multiple visits to the public library.
We spent a beach day at one of our favourite hidden spots.
I worked some long (but fun) days at the annual Writers Festival and got to meet authors like Michael Crummey, David Robertson, and Susin Nielsen.
Peter and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We had take-out fish and chips at our wedding reception locale (ie: his parents’ house)
We made our annual camping trip to Keats Island where we had maybe the most relaxing camping trip of our lives. We went for just two nights and left the dog behind (sorry, Winnie). The weather was hot, the ice cream was delicious. We swam and read books and generally had ourselves a fabulous time.
We crammed in a whole bunch of beach days – swimming to the raft, playing around on kayaks and paddle boards, sipping cold drinks and eating chips.
Some things not pictured:
A weekend visit with one of Peter’s brothers and his family, including our youngest nephew who turned one this summer. (Seeing my kids as the “big cousins” is pretty wild.)
Rock & Roll Bingo at the Gibsons Legion. It was 90s and early 2000s theme which is very much my musical era and I won a prize.
Introducing the girls to their first video games at home (Minecraft) and watching them build a little world together.
Lots of slow mornings and relaxed dinners. Casual bedtimes and afternoons drinks on the back deck.
We’re back at it now and settling into the new routine. And that’s a good thing too.
Karissa Reads Books 
It just occurred to me that as a teacher, Peter must have the summers off. Does he do summer work or is he resting/even more involved with family stuff?
He does have summers off! This was actually the first summer he didn’t take on some sort of extra job. It’s always nice to have him around more and it makes my work life easier because he shifts to primary parent in the summers. He usually has some sort of project going on around our house so he tries to get that stuff done in the summer.
I just know that your kids will remember forever him being there as parent #1. I used to teach a unit about gender when I was a prof with a comp class. Students would bitch about me being man-hating but the essays were literally by men analyzing studies that show most men would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids. This was before the 2008 crash, so I don’t know what studies would say today, about 19 years later with a new generation of parents and financial instability.
You know what, so many millennial dads are really killing it when it comes to parenting these days. They’re being dads in a way entirely different than any previous generation and it’s really beautiful to watch. I know so many dads who took parental leave when their kids were born and who are super hands on and involved in their families.
I think even older men (my dad is right on the line for being a wee boomer/elder Gen X) are changing. My dad used to be 95% hands off. When I was a little bitty kid, if my mom couldn’t be home in time to make dinner, he would have me make something instead of parenting himself. He was definitely tv/beer dad. He was one-camping-trip-per-summer dad. Now, I watch him play with my brother’s kids, which, at first, was a bummer. But now, when Nick and I show up for a visit, he gets out of his chair and hugs us, turns off the TV, and we often sit outside and visit. It’s so nice. I’m glad for this change and will never be a “good ol’ days” kind of person nostalgic for a lifestyle that only existed in Leave it to Beaver.
That’s an interesting observation and I think you’re probably right. I wonder if it’s at least partially because they have time now that they didn’t when their own kids were young? Or that they’re seeing a younger generation be more involved? I’m glad you are getting to enjoy that with your own dad.