I read a really great Scary Mommy blog recently about giving our kids a summer like the ones WE use to have. Here’s a link if you haven’t read it yet: http://www.scarymommy.com/10-ways-to-give-your-kid-a-1970s-kind-of-summer/
I LOVE the Scary Mommy blogs but this one got me thinking: Why do kids get to have all the fun? Why can’t WE have a fun, youthful summer as well?

I’ve been pondering this lately because I’m currently unemployed (I’ve been saying “self employed” since I started this website but no one’s buying it) so it looks like I will have the summer off too. That is why I’ve decided that this summer, I’m going to be 17 again.

The summer of my 17th year was the best because I hadn’t gone off to college yet and didn’t have to pretend to be a responsible adult. I DID have a job but it was at a record store with a bunch of cool people who liked to drink beer and smoke cigarettes after work. We were all still kids but close enough to adulthood to appreciate the freedom we had left.

That’s why I’m going to make this most of THIS summer and act like a 17-year-old. I’m going to eat french fries and drink Slushees and by God, I’m going to start ordering dessert again. I’m going to read books and lay-out by the pool and even though my body is FAR from 17, I’m going to buy a skimpy bikini. I’m going to play games outside, like kickball and hide-n-seek and I might even go to Six Flags WITHOUT MY KIDS! When I do, I will also sneak in some rum, which will be hidden in a washed out hairspray bottle.

This summer, my husband will no longer be my husband because he is now my boyfriend. I will fawn over him, send him handwritten notes, and will try to make him do unseemly things with me in improper places. That said, I fully plan to flirt with everything that moves (ESPECIALLY very old men because they seem to appreciate it the most).

I’m going to dress wildly, tease my hair and embarrass the HELL out of my children and I absolutely CAN NOT WAIT. But I can’t do it alone, can I? I need a posse of friends who are willing to do these things with me. After all, behaving badly isn’t fun without a pal and I might chicken out if I don’t have a friend at my side whispering, “DOOOOOO IT!”

If you’re interested, the first meeting of “17 Again” will be happening tonight. Plan to be at Super Target by 10pm, where we will buy inexpensive and wholly inappropriate bikinis. OH, and BYOF (Bring Your Own Flask) because we are NOT actually 17 again and trying on those bikinis might require some liquid encouragement.