Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84GoodLifeFamilyMag.com JULY | AUGUST 2016 83 JOIN OUR FAMILY! Share your thoughts, stories, insights, advice, and yes, even frustrations and failures with Good Life Family. Email Sheryl Pidgeon, Sheryl@GoodLifeFamilyMag.com or any member of the Good Life Family team. Good Morning Texas’s Paige McCoy Smith explains why summertime feels like a cross between a Shakespearean classic and a Willy Wonka time warp... - Paige To Be or Not To Be... goodPOINT PS: Look for me on WFAA Channel 8 Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM! EXCITED FOR SUMMER BREAK As if life is not hard enough—summer enters! Yes, from far stage left, this character makes a scorching entrance, and I am never prepared. It emerges on the stage, and I feel like shouting “Et tu, summer?” Even though I’ve been in this parenting business for almost 17 years, I still am blind-sided when summer enters the scene. This year, my oldest is 16 and can legally work. Although he can now contribute to our family’s bottom line—I am not off the hook. As the mother of three, I still have to straddle the needs of a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old while collecting applications for the (newly employable) 16-year- old. I’m sure you can relate to being pulled in different directions. It’s like being in the Willy Wonka Glass Elevator—"up and down, sideways, slantways and any other way you can think of.” Although the school year brings its own challenges (like the last- minute science project or the Chinese language test), there is comfort in routine. Each year when June rolls around, the unpredictability of summer for the kids collides with the routine of work for the adults, and this often leads to unrest in the household. I’m going to try something a little different this year. Instead of filling every hour with weekday camps, enrichment programs and summer sports leagues, I am going to abandon my five-column Summer Spread Sheet and allow our family to simply breathe during these dog days. With summer in constant flux, sometimes the hardest part is simply being still. Somehow we will manage—but look for me near the end of August. I might be the one dancing in the school supply aisle. Until then, I will attempt to heed the unpredictable words of Willy Wonka—“There's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going...” while trying to relax in the wisdom of Shakespeare, after all “summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”