Our kids won’t.   They go back to school too early.  It takes time to create those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

 During the short summer breaks of today we’re too busy trying to get everything in … vacations, organized sports, swim lessons, etc.  Then there’s the mad dash to get school supplies and clothes.  And, of course, parents are doing all the planning and doing while also keeping “the nose to the grindstone”.   Okay, so maybe all that creates a kind of crazy summer.  But, where are the lazy, hazy, crazy days?  There’s no time for those. 

How about the mornings when a kid gets up early and goes outside, walks to a friend’s house, rides bikes, comes home for lunch, then goes back outside for a casual game of kickball or softball in the side or backyard?  Or, on a hot day, laying on a lounge chair under a sprinkler?  How about full days spent at the pool?

These days don’t need to be planned.  That’s part of the lazy, hazy part of summer.  Just getting up and rolling with the day.  Being spontaneous, innocent, and relaxed are all parts of the formula. However, it takes time to become relaxed.  It takes knowing that you have many weeks to fill with summer fun.   

When I was a kid, summer ended right after the last day of the State Fair.  Right after Labor Day all kids went back to school.  Those two family events … the State Fair and Labor Day … always capped off the summer beautifully. 

Let’s talk with school leaders about making a change.  Let’s go back to starting school right after Labor Day. 

There’s something else we need to do too.  Let’s turn off the televisions, the computers, video games and the cell phones more often. 

And, let’s all dig out Nat King Cole’s hit … Those Lazy, Hazy Crazy Days of Summer … and make it our theme song for the season.  

Is anybody with me on this?