By Colleen D’Angelo

We’ve finally finished all of the projects, tests, concerts and field trips for the school year. Lockers are cleaned out, chalkboards erased and report cards sent home with excited children ready to start summer vacation.

On the first day of vacation, we’ll all sleep in. I’ll make a big pancake breakfast and then the kids will play outside until I ring the dinner bell at 6 p.m. We’ll sit down to a home-cooked meal and the kids will tell us about their pick-up baseball game at the park.

Wait a minute. I think that was an episode from a 1950s sitcom. Here is what really happens in our house the first day of summer break…

Nobody sets an alarm, but my three children, ages 8 to 15, are under strict orders not to get out of bed before 8 a.m.

8:01 a.m. – Our youngest, Catie, runs into the master bedroom screaming, “It’s 8 o’clock, time to get up! Will you make us breakfast?” She jumps on the bed, bringing our 4-pound dog with her. The 12-pound cat runs over my body and out the door.

I beg for 15 minutes of peace and bribe her with cartoons.

“OK, but I have to watch cartoons in your bed because Courtney is watching TV downstairs and Chris is on the computer,” she states.

“Go watch TV with your sister,” I plead.

“I can’t, she’s watching the yucky cartoons,” she says.

My peaceful minutes are then spent trying to figure out how three children managed to establish their set positions between 8 and 8:01 a.m., and what in the world “yucky cartoons” are.

8:28 a.m. – I get a bonus 13 minutes. Catie crawls on top of me and says, “My show is over. Now can you make us breakfast?”

Out of excuses, I shuffle to the kitchen with dogs, cats and children at my heels, all wanting to be fed.

“Can you make us a special breakfast since it’s a holiday?” Catie asks.

“It isn’t a holiday,” I mutter. “It’s just the first day of summer break.”

“Mom, make us waffles and ice-cream like you do on our birthdays,” Courtney begs.

“Oooh, yeah, please Mom?” Chris and Catie add.

I grew up in Connecticut, but spent time every summer at the Jersey Shore. A favorite pastime was strolling on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights, where the ocean breeze and noisy arcades went hand-in hand-with cotton candy and waffle and ice-cream sandwiches.

I make the special breakfast and we devour it, enjoying the cold ice cream as it melts and softens the hot waffles.

9:35 a.m. – The kids dump their dishes in the sink and return to their activities. I load the dishwasher, put the food away, throw in a load of laundry, trip over backpacks and get dressed. I sit down to start a crossword puzzle.

10:55 a.m. – The children are back in the kitchen opening the pantry and refrigerator doors. “We’re hungry,” they say. “What’s for lunch?”

I remind them we just ate breakfast. Courtney argues, “But at school we would be heading to the cafeteria by now.”

11:05 a.m. – I wash three apples, hand them to my starving children and send them outside to play. I empty the dishwasher, transfer laundry to the dryer, schedule summer doctor and dentist appointments and sit down to check my e-mails.

11:35 a.m. – The young ones return, gasping for breath and open the refrigerator door again.

“It’s too hot outside,” Catie says.

“I wish it was snowing,” Courtney says.

“I’d rather be skiing,” Chris adds.

I would rather be on a hot beach than anywhere else in the world, and I often wonder if my babies were all switched at birth. I decide it’s time for an intervention and a summer plan.

Our current American school calendar exists because our agrarian ancestors needed children to help on the farm during the summer months. However, most American children today, including mine, will not be picking fruit or harvesting crops this summer. So what are we to do for the next 11 weeks together in Dublin, Ohio?

My family and I put together a list of summer activities and a plan to enjoy as many as possible. They include:

- Riding our bikes to Historic Dublin. There, we can sign up for the Summer Reading Program at the library and buy sweets at MJ’s Candy Bar. Then we’ll have to choose between ice cream at Jeni’s and mocha frappuccinos at Starbucks.

- Growing a garden. We can grow tomatoes, lettuce and basil at home, and eventually add mozzarella cheese and olive oil for a yummy caprese salad.

- Cooking a dinner or baking a dessert. Each child can be responsible for one meal per week. They could search cookbooks or the Internet for the right meal, make a list, shop for the ingredients and cook the meal together.

- Setting a summertime goal. Everyone could pick a goal and plan how to achieve it, be it saving money, walking or riding their bike a specific distance or sending a letter with photos to one person per week.

- Getting a job or volunteering. Kids can mow lawns, walk dogs and babysit. Teens can volunteer to tutor grade school children through Dublin CARES (www.carestutor.com). The whole family can pitch in and help out the Dublin Food Pantry by donating food and stocking shelves (614-889-6590). The Dublin Irish Festival, July 31-Aug. 2, is always looking for volunteers (www.dublinirishfestival.org).

- Participating in community fun. Dublin has the annual Kiwanis Frog Jump on June 27, and an incredible Independence Day celebration all day July 4. Check out Dublin Life’s online calendar at www.dublinlifemagazine.com for even more local events.

The possibilities for involvement this summer are numerous. Sign up for one of dozens of camps and sports lessons in Dublin. Get CPR certified or act in a play at the Dublin Recreation Center (www.dublin.oh.us/recreation). Try golf, field hockey or lacrosse at Sports Ohio. (A tip: www.wikichild.com is a great Web site that lists kids’ summer choices).

You can survive summer break with some planning and help from all that Dublin has to offer. Enjoy!

Colleen D’Angelo is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.