My Surprisingly Relaxing Whack-a-Mole Summer

I had no idea that Whack-a-Mole existed until I had children. Even then, I remained blissfully unaware of this game until my then-only child was turning 5. The first time I saw the little animals popping up through the holes, I leaned closer to see what they were. My son didn't bother. He stepped right up, gripped the plastic covered mallet with assurance, and whacked those little whatevers soundly on the head.

Fast forward 15 years. It occurred to me last week that my summer has pretty much been a rousing game of Whack-a-Mole.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that it’s been busy in a random sort of way that seemed eerily familiar until it finally hit me last week. 

As soon as I take care of one thing, another little mole pops up to ask for something else. Or it’s time to go grocery shopping. Or time to cook dinner. Or the car needs gas. Or someone needs a ride. Or more frequently, one kid rode his bike to the pool but 10 minutes after he arrived—which is 20 minutes after I sat down to write—a major thunderstorm hit, the pool is now closed, he can’t ride home, and it’s nearly time to pick up his sister from camp which is 15 minutes away—in the opposite direction.

And yet, this summer has been amazingly relaxing. I’ll be the first to admit that that makes absolutely no sense. I think it’s mainly because my kids are terrific and I love having them around. They help out pretty readily when I ask. And they’re fun. So are their friends. And yes, between work and kids, I’m literally running from sun up to sun down, and then some. But it’s good running. It’s time spent driving my kids and their friends various places. Time spent having their friends hanging out at my house. It’s time that comes close to approximating the lazy days of my own childhood summers.

I also think it’s been relaxing because I got real about what I can do during summer break. I work from home, so my hours are somewhat flexible. But I do like to sleep once in a while and I prefer to do my work while the sun is still shining. Accomplishing both sleep at night and daylight work hours was pretty much out of the question until July, when I made my work hours from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Inviolate. Anybody needing anything during those hours just has to wait. Or go with Plan B. It’s amazing how much I can get done in three uninterrupted hours.

The rest of the time I work when I can, run when I can’t, and whomp those little moles gently so I’m ready for whatever pops up next.