San Francisco Province
"Summer time and the livin’ is easy." "What’s so rare as a day in June?" "No more school. No more books. No more teachers’ dirty looks!"
For me Summer was a time of great freedom. As a kid I had a heavy agenda of sleeping late, going fishing, endless discoveries in the yard and nearby parks and vacant lots, movies, reading and staying up late. Once in a while my folks did a "well-being" check on me to assure themselves that they still had a son in the vicinity. They had the temerity once in a while to ask me to take out the garbage and go shopping or visiting with them. Man, I was busy from June through August!
The purpose for long summer vacations for children of yesteryear was to allow them to
assist with the family planting and harvest and to tend the livestock. A recent radio
essay mentioned the idea of year-round school and the proposal in Los Angeles, Calif., for
over 175 schools to initiate this kind of program. We are no longer an agrarian society.
Au contraire! Farming has become a specialty career. So why are hundreds of thousands of
children and young adults let loose while the rest of us are earning a living? There is,
perforce, less supervision, less restraint and too few summer programs to keep all these
young minds and hands busy in a different style of learning.
Even I used to get into trouble with the neighbors when I tired of idleness. Too much of a good thing begins to pall— even vacations. The challenge to satisfy the curiosity and restlessness of youth continues to tax our ingenuity. The Salesians, faithful to their tradition, offer programs to keep kids busy and happy, teachers and supervisors sharp. There is an old Salesian saying: "Vacation is merely a change of occupation." Our kids go from school to either summer activity or idleness. And so, for us, there can be no vacation from caring for youth.
There are summer camps sponsored by parishes or youth clubs. The youth centers themselves have all sorts of games, sports leagues, arts and crafts, outings and educational activities that fill out a long, lazy summer day. Parishes have day camps, and schools open some facilities like fields, gyms and swimming pools.
Perhaps an important lesson for our youth is there is no vacation from God. Religious practices continue. The sacraments are frequented. Prayers are said. With these practices our lives grow and take on deeper meaning, and relationships are better appreciated. Our relaxation must include the Lord. Remember, even Jesus enjoyed a little time alone and even a fish fry or two!— but he was never far from his Heavenly Father.
For those of us who
work year-round, how precious are those couple of weeks we can spend with the family
recouping our energies and getting to know one another better in a leisurely
way without the separations that work and school schedules impose. The days are longer.
Let us take the opportunity to show our kids how to enjoy!
