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Sacred Summer!

“Mommy, I slipped a note in your pocket. Everything will be okay. I’ll be back this afternoon.” That was from my 5-year-old nephew. He was off to his first day of school and feeling confident. More confident than his mother, who had set out all his clothes the evening before (she posted the picture…) and fretted about lunch and if he would find friends. I know this because it was on Facebook. Cute, I thought.

“Mommy, I slipped a note in your pocket. Everything will be okay. I’ll be back this afternoon.” That was from my 5-year-old nephew. He was off to his first day of school and feeling confident. More confident than his mother, who had set out all his clothes the evening before (she posted the picture…) and fretted about lunch and if he would find friends. I know this because it was on Facebook. Cute, I thought. First day of clothes are all ready! And then came more postings of little kids, big kids all going to their first day of primary or high school and even college. “But, wait,” I thought, “it’s the middle of August!” Here in Valencia, the days are hot and long. Businesses are closed. That makes sense! It’s summer! And yes, even though I get frustrated with being sticky and sweaty from the humidity and of hearing that irritating buzz of mosquitos closing in me for a nice snack, at least Spaniards respect the August summer. They don’t steal September’s obligations from it like school beginning! I feel the same as the Spaniards; I enjoy taking a break in the middle of the heat of the day. And I enjoy taking a break in the middle of the hottest time of the year. It gives the mind and body a pause to assimilate and appreciate life. It’s different in the States. There, it’s traditional to power through the heat with an air conditioner. Keep striving; time is money. I have been a teacher in California for years and I continue teaching here in Valencia. When I began, classes started the middle of September. That is normal. It was fun preparing for the change of the season with the change of activities. But then, other things changed. The administration summoned us teachers the first week of August, which was not normal. They expected us teachers to prepare for the school year, which would begin the following week! I acted professional, even cheery on the outside, but on the inside I was raging! To begin classes in the middle of August is sacrilegious! In my years of visiting and now living in Spain, many things have changed: Santa Claus comes, Halloween is popular, there are all kinds of salads to choose from, the cars are bigger. But one hasn’t: summer is still summer. The entire country takes a break in August.
First day of clothes are all ready!

And then came more postings of little kids, big kids all going to their first day of primary or high school and even college.

“But, wait,” I thought, “it’s the middle of August!”

Here in Valencia, the days are hot and long. Businesses are closed. That makes sense! It’s summer! And yes, even though I get frustrated with being sticky and sweaty from the humidity and of hearing that irritating buzz of mosquitos closing in me for a nice snack, at least Spaniards respect the August summer. They don’t steal September’s obligations from it like school beginning! I feel the same as the Spaniards; I enjoy taking a break in the middle of the heat of the day. And I enjoy taking a break in the middle of the hottest time of the year. It gives the mind and body a pause to assimilate and appreciate life.

It’s different in the States. There, it’s traditional to power through the heat with an air conditioner. Keep striving; time is money.

I have been a teacher in California for years and I continue teaching here in Valencia. When I began, classes started the middle of September. That is normal. It was fun preparing for the change of the season with the change of activities. But then, other things changed. The administration summoned us teachers the first week of August, which was not normal. They expected us teachers to prepare for the school year, which would begin the following week! I acted professional, even cheery on the outside, but on the inside I was raging! To begin classes in the middle of August is sacrilegious!

In my years of visiting and now living in Spain, many things have changed: Santa Claus comes, Halloween is popular, there are all kinds of salads to choose from, the cars are bigger. But one hasn’t: summer is still summer. The entire country takes a break in August.

And to show my solidarity with Spain and its most sacred traditions, my academy begins September 15! Maybe if the US kept summer sacred, moms would have the appropriate time to prepare for their departing children!

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