文章分享了作者希望孩子们度过一个轻松、无拘无束的夏天的愿望。作者回忆了自己童年时期无忧无虑的暑假，并希望孩子们也能拥有类似的体验。她描述了孩子们在暑假期间的自由生活方式，没有安排各种课程或活动，而是让他们自由地享受放松的时光。作者认为，这种放松和无所事事的时间对孩子们来说是必要的，可以让他们有空间思考、梦想，并为迎接新学年的挑战做好准备。她也反思了现代社会对“忙碌”的推崇，并试图重新学习如何放松，让孩子们拥有一个充满回忆的、无忧无虑的夏天。

🏖️ 作者希望孩子们能够像她小时候一样，享受一个轻松、无拘无束的暑假。她回忆起自己童年时期的暑假，充满了游泳、玩耍和自由支配的时间。

😴 作者的孩子们正在度过一个“1980年代式的夏天”，没有参加夏令营或学术项目，可以睡到自然醒，自由安排自己的时间。作者对此感到满意，认为这是一种让孩子们放松和充电的方式。

⏳ 作者意识到这种轻松的时光不会永远持续下去。随着开学日期的临近，她将开始引导孩子们为新学年做准备。她认为，这种轻松的暑假时光对孩子们来说是珍贵的，可以让他们在繁忙的学业开始前得到充分的休息和放松。

When I was young, I enjoyed lazy, golden summer breaks. I want my kids to have restful, easy summers, too.I know this time can't last forever, but that just makes me want to enjoy it even more.

Growing up in South Florida, summer breaks were a blur of pool days, sleepovers, mall trips, and a lot of sleeping in. My days fell into an easy rhythm: I'd roll out of bed around noon, toss on a swimsuit, grab a Diet Pepsi and a granola bar, then flop into a lounge chair by the pool. Afternoons were spent reading and swimming laps, and in the evening, I could be found on the phone or hanging out with friends until curfew.

I got my first part-time job the year I turned 16, and my schedule shifted around work hours. But I still slept in whenever I could and spent a ridiculous amount of time on the phone when I wasn't working or practicing my driving.

I remember those summers as relaxed, carefree, and fun — three months of doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. My parents rolled their eyes when I was still in bed at lunchtime, but it was the 1980s — helicopter parenting wasn't a thing. As long as I did my chores, I was golden. And so were my summers.

My kids are having a 1980s summer

We're four weeks into summer break, and I'm happy to report my kids have settled into their own version of a 1980s summer. Some people call it "kid rot" — lounging around on screens, staying up until midnight, and generally doing a whole lot of nothing. But as an older mom, it feels just about perfect to me.

My kids aren't attending camps or academic programs, and I have (almost) no guilt about letting them sleep in as late as they want. In fact, I want them to enjoy these long, lazy days with no agenda.

Soon enough, they'll be headed back to school, to SATs and geometry class, to clubs, part-time jobs, and volunteer hours. After that, they'll be off to college, jobs, and a busy life that leaves no room for weeks and weeks of downtime.

I know this time can't last forever

Knowing these lazy days of summer can't last is one reason they're so special. As we get closer to the start of school, I'll start nudging my sons to go to bed earlier and crack open the summer reading they've ignored since May. I'll begin tugging gently on the loose boundaries that this season has allowed. They'll push back — of course they will — and there will be late nights come September when they think they can stay up past midnight and still function at 7 a.m.

My kids will learn, like I did, that summer's easy, breezy flow doesn't carry over into the structure of a jam-packed school year. They'll wistfully say, "I miss summer," and I will silently agree as I send them off to school — backpacks full of books, folders, goals, dreams, and the first hints of their future just coming into view.

I'm trying to enjoy summer, too

My kids' summers have always looked like this — relaxed days and mostly empty schedules, aside from the occasional beach or lake trip. I've spent years feeling vaguely guilty that I haven't packed their break with classes and camps and educational field trips.

But then I remind myself that we live in a culture that glorifies being busy, where self-worth is often tied to paychecks and accomplishments. Even being truly at rest takes effort — rearranging personal and professional schedules and front-loading or back-loading work just to steal a few days of true downtime.

I think back to my younger self — happily sleeping in, reading for hours, or lounging by the pool with no goal beyond a Coppertone tan — and I wonder what changed. When did a four-day weekend start to feel decadent and undeserved? When did I start calling it a "vacation week" if I only put in 20 hours of freelance work and checked off a couple of big chores?

I'm trying to relearn how to relax while letting my kids do what still comes naturally to them. I'm less focused on preparing them for the "real world" than I am on giving them memories of a carefree summer spent resetting and refueling. This isn't "rot" to me — it's the kind of downtime that gives them space to think, dream, and even get bored. They need it — and I'm reminding myself, so do I.