This simply cannot possibly be true.

It is.

School is almost o-ver!!!!

In my home I'm uncertain who is more excited, my kids or me.

My 16-year old son, who scores so high on his tests but forgets to do his homework, is facing five weeks of hard labor: intense summer school in English and World History.

He has promised us Bs from the summer forward. He will need to if he hopes to get into a decent college. 

"You know you're going to be one of those kids left behind and you're way too smart. So just do your homework, please?"

Mimi, my seven-year old, enjoys taunting her older brother that she does not have to go to summer school.

"You're in second grade. There's time. Just wait."

"Jay," I admonish.

The day after Jay gets out of school we are leaving for vacation in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We will fly into Salt Lake City, I'm still unsure why, and then drive into nature.

My husband knows that I do not camp. I hotel. So he has booked some nice lodges.

Then in early August the kids and I will leave for a week to see my family in Connecticut and we'll visit New York City and Boston. I'm taking my kids and niece and nephews to see the play, Hair. They don't know the ending. But the sun will definitely be shining in. It will be their first Broadway play and I'm excited to share it with them.

We'll catch fireflies at dusk and watch them light up Mason jars with their light bulb-like backs and then set them free. During the mornings we'll take long walks down Martha Stewartesque country roads. I'll laugh with my sisters. And probably fight a bit, too. The cousins we'll also laugh. And probably argue as well. This is why my husband stays home. He is not used to the noise. I grew up with it. To me it's just ambient sounds.

In between there is camp for Mimi three days a week and play dates on the other two. I sense this is going to be a beautiful summer. We'll see old friends and hang out with our neighbors. 

The opportunity to slow down, reflect and enjoy is that for which I hope. The reality, I know, is more likely my son will forget to do his homework and my daughter will say -- just as she does about school -- that she doesn't want to go to camp.

Still, I look forward to the respite. Even if it's only in my imagination.

By Dawn Yun