My First Aid Kit is…Like…the Size of Montana

The school year is over and we are into the busy summer season. I would like to share some of the excursions my boys and I have enjoyed over the past summer as I attempted to keep the boredom at bay while trying to maintain everyone's sanity. My sanity, it has slipped a bit, but my laughter remains a steady source of strength.

The park was fun as well as healthy. We brought scooters and skateboards, sunscreen and plenty of water. Movie matinees were a retreat from the heat and less expensive than nighttime shows, and with the money we saved on tickets we had enough to splurge for tasty treats.

A first aid kit on all outings is a well thought out necessity for my crew. Others may not need this at the movies, but I like to 'be on the safe side'.

As I again look forward to neglecting housework, eating in the car, and giving thanks for "Tide with Bleach Alternative", I think about how other families might battle boredom, and ride the waves during these hot humid days.

Your children will love the park. They will ride the scooters, wearing the appropriate padding and headgear, steering clear of hills and trees. They will let you apply sunscreen knowing it is healthy to avoid exposure to those harmful rays. They will drink the water to keep themselves hydrated as they take in the sights, sounds and various plant life.

My children, they will find the steepest hill, apply the sunscreen to this hill, add the water to the sunscreen atop this very steep hill, and then race in a Slip 'n Slide fashion, at the speed of light, to the tree at the bottom of the hill. All while resembling the Olympian elite, flip kicking their skateboards, and taking out the various plant life.

While your postcard-sized first aid kit is suitable and contains four Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment and tweezers, mine is approximately the size of Montana, with 4-wheel drive, a padded shoulder strap, and a detachable towrope. It contains Plaster of Paris, an antibiotic IV drip, enough gauze, when unwound, to mummify all in Egypt, and pliers.

Should hot weather or rain dampen the outdoor fun, the movie theater is always a good option. With plenty of G-rated movies, you and your children can settle in for a few hours of popcorn and giggles. Last summer, I took my boys to the movies. The wait in line was not long and I soon arrived at the ticket window. I pushed my coupons and gift cards through the hole in the window then shouted into this very same hole, "I would like three tickets, one adult, and two children's, to see "Over the Hill". My son Christian, who was nine, exploded with laughter as he explained, "The movie is Over the Hedge, Mom."

I have learned to bring plenty of extra cash for the concessions. Thirty-seven dollars later, with candy, popcorn, and the one-size-fits-all sodas, my kids and I took our seats. The first trip to the restroom came before the previews were even over. Twenty minutes into the movie, charged up on soda and sugar, was the second trip to the restroom. This cycle repeated every 22 minutes, which was OK, because they couldn't stop fidgeting. You may have been the unfortunate family seated behind us. So running to the bathroom perhaps discharged some of the electricity. While in the totally-automated bathroom, they flushed the toilet eleven times, dispensed enough soap to wash a tractor trailer and unrolled 47 sheets of the 2-ply paper towel – all with a wave of their tiny, little hands.

Whether it was the caffeine in the soda or the sugar disguised as a three and one-half pound bag of certified cavities that sparked them, I'm not sure, but they told me, "The movie was awesome, Mom." I simply asked, "Was it?" and "Did you notice how clean the bathrooms are?"

I know the summer is short and I will be busy trying to salvage what is left of the rose bushes at the park and cleaning the sunscreen from those tiny ball bearings inside the wheels of the skateboards. What did you think the pliers were for?

Enjoy this summer, relax, have fun and most of all laugh now because, before you know it, you'll be a grandparent doing this all over again. But, you won't have to take the grandkids home with you. Somehow, at least to me, that seems much more relaxing and I can imagine even more enjoyment watching my children curse dirt and praise "Tide" in a single breath.