I just realized today that the kids go back to school the first week of August. That really seems sad. They just got out. Summer vacations are becoming a thing of the past. It seems as though we are depriving the younger generation of the joys of childhood.

It is apparent that now that most households have two wage earners, it is economically beneficial for many families for the kids to be in school so that both parents can be out of the house during the day. The necessity of earning a living - trying to pay for the $4 + a gallon gasoline and the rapacious mortgages is a fact of life.

But couldn’t we have at least summers free of the reality of day to day life for the kids? The swimming pools, the baseball games, the hot afternoons spent under a tree trying to cool off are but a myth told by their parents to most kids.

My kids went to their grandmother’s house to spend the summers as I had gone to mine. Mothers and fathers both worked, but the grandparents were the blessed relief from the high cost of baby sitting or day care. (I’m not sure that they even had day care when I was a kid back in the ancient times.) It gave parents the freedom of being temporarily without the responsibilities of clamoring youngsters and gave grandparents a mission. Now that time is cut way too short.

Even assuming the grandparents option isn’t available, isn’t there a better way to allow the kids to grow up, a way that doesn’t involving institutionalizing them from cradle to grave?

Trees, fields, backyard baseball and the freedom to have their own thoughts - or no thoughts at all are more important in today’s world than ever before.

We as adults are now trying to find ourselves through nature. We go on retreats, we rent a mountain cabin so that we can be at peace and meditate. We are advised to take long walks and contemplate. The kids need this too, probably more than the adults. They need the time to sort out their thoughts and feelings just as much as anyone.

Can’t we just let them be kids - free spirits? Does every waking moment have to be regimented with organized sports, lessons, clubs, and school?

Give them what we want for ourselves as adults. Give them a sense of control over their own time. Allow them to have a sense of freedom and adventure.

Sherry Henderson, Editor