But I’m really friggin’ ready for school to start, and I feel totally guilty.

I’ve tried to do as much as I could with her this summer. I’ve taken her to several movies. Our favorites were Star Trek: Into Darkness (she loves Chris Pine, too. Fabulous taste, just like her mother), Iron Man 3, and Despicable Me 2. We’ve seen several more, but those top our list. We’ve done the museum, the historical home, the park. I took her for a long weekend to visit friends in the Twin Cities and we hit the Minneapolis Museum of History and Como Zoo. Of course there’s swim team and various play dates. And oh yeah, that Justin Bieber concert in Des Moines that took ninety minutes between the second opening act and the “star” attraction.

I’ve done a lot with her – more than my parents were able to do with me. Hell, when we were kids, it was “go outside and entertain yourself.” I wonder why we’ve changed so much as a society. Kids dominate our schedules, and so many of them, like my own child, are so spoiled by STUFF and DOING THINGS that simple down time can be boring.

But I still feel as though I haven’t made enough time for her. And yet I am counting the days – 11! – until school starts. Which adds on to the guilty, of course.

Do other parents go through this for summer? What activities have you done with the kiddos to keep them entertained?