“SCHOOOOLLLSS out for SUMMER!!!” Alice Cooper, did you have any idea? You are an icon for kids in America. That song defines what kids and teachers (and in my case parents) feel as the summer begins. It’s more than just a celebration; it’s an official proclamation!

My dear friend Sue, whose life is even crazier than mine, had to miss the last day of school. She had a recently planned trip to NC where she hopes to find a new home,job and life in the allotted 4 days. She has 4 kids as well, and left them in my care. Silly rabbit!

I didn’t get them a new puppy (yet), or put food coloring in the pool. Nobody has a tattoo or new piercings to show mama when she gets back.

I did want to make the last day of school special. The night before we made about 8 gazillion cookies (she’s going to have some restocking to do in the pantry). They were busy- there was a lot of measuring and mixing,baking and wrapping.They all had a good dose of cookies (and dough) in their bellies that night. No problem- what’s one night,right?

The next day, we made a deal: give me 15 minutes each of hard work and we’d have a “schools out” bonfire.  They each had their job gathering laundry, dirty dishes and paper trash from around the house. Then, we took all the homework, paper notices and unimportant reminders of the school year out to the driveway.  We rigged up a makeshift firepit and burned it all. They were so cute, dancing around the fire in their barefeet (we were careful mom). We added one log, and over this we made dinner.  The hotdogs…well the dogs ate those. The kids had mostly marshmallows and chocolate. We added graham crackers for smores- this was kind of a dessert. I know, sugar for dinner…but it’s a “school’s out” celebration…and it’s only for one night.

So if you want your kids to eat healthy, with lots of greens, and be in their beds all clean and disciplined you might want to call someone else. But, if you want them to be happy while you’re gone,to eat junk food for dinner, to go to bed with sugar in their hair and soot on their feet. I’m your girl!