Who Called it Summer Vacation?

I would love to meet the first person who coined this time of year as summer vacation.  For the people who take responsibility for all those kids who are on a break from school, it is anything but a vacation.  Since my kids have been out of school for break or graduated my "summer vacation" has consisted of the following:
   Travel Softball league, payoffs and tournaments during the week and most weekends.
   Summer basketball two nights a week.
   Summer college orientation that consisted of a three day out of town visit.
   Week long science camp.
   Cross country training.
   Swimming for swim team.
   Various Dr.s  and dentist appointments.
   Another three day out of town trip to take college freshman to school.
   Out of town wedding.
   Soccer camp.
   School shopping.
And that list only consist of the extra summer activities,  that does not include all the other normal things that are part of my activities like working, cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, general up keep of the house, and my own personal causes that get whatever of my time is left.  Sometimes that means working on my laptop in the softball parking lot during warm ups or breaks between games.  At times I feel pulled in so many directions that I can not truly enjoy where I am at any moment.

Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my kids and will gladly let the house get rumpled if it meant choosing between doing something with them or cleaning up.  But I am looking forward to the end of August when I get my REAL vacation, which consists of a prison visit, and the beginning of the regular school year.

It will be bittersweet in that my oldest son will be off to college as a freshman over 5 states away but that is one less schedule that I will be forced to juggle as the roll of single parent I have been forced into.  This will be the last late summer visit to a prison that we will ever have to make, so next year might really be a "summer vacation". But until that time I will try to enjoy the life I am living and relishing in the busyness of our days.