There is a fantastic episode of Seinfeld called “The Summer of George.” In it, George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, is given a three-month severance package upon being fired from his job with the New York Yankees. He decides not to immediately search for another job, instead vowing to spend those three months trying new things like frisbee golf.
But in typical George fashion, he can’t stick to his plans, instead becoming so lazy that he calls his friend Jerry Seinfeld just to see what’s going on in Jerry’s apartment since he doesn’t feel like leaving his own. When he finally decides to do something, misfortune befalls him and he ends up in an accident that he could have prevented if he hadn’t wasted away so much.
This summer was supposed to be my Summer of George. We were planning a trip to Seattle to see some family and visit another Major League ballpark, even looking at taking the train out there for a new experience. I was going to coach Anton’s baseball team for a final summer. There would be a lot of fun times going to graduation parties for Jayna’s classmates and making final preparations to send her off to Winona State. Along with all that, I would have my normal stack of reading material and also shows to watch.
The pandemic and the complete shift in how my teaching job was done in April and May, mixed with not going out much during those two months, made me feel a bit like George when he stayed in his apartment. Once we could emerge a bit, like the groundhog seeking his shadow, I felt like my muscles and energy had atrophied like George’s, and it was hard to get motivated.
For one thing, I’m so sick of being in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking and don’t mind doing that for my family. However, I’m used to eating concession stand food a couple times a week during much of the year since we’re at various sporting events. When we got into June, I realized how many consecutive nights I hadn’t had a taco in a bag or an overpriced piece of pizza, and it made me sad.
Like some of you, I put on a little weight while I was stuck at home. Plus, I was dealing with foot problems, which didn’t even allow me to get on the treadmill. And without my normal calendar of umpiring gigs, I felt like I was George sitting on his couch all the time in that episode. Plus, by being home all the time, my grocery bill went up because all of us would eye the pantry more than we should. Unfortunately, I no longer have the metabolism of my 15-year-old son.
Normally, I’m able to remove myself mentally from school items for days or weeks at a time in the summer. Sometimes, I’ll wake up with a brilliant idea for the next school year, and I always spend some time reading young adult fiction so I know what to suggest for kids to read. But otherwise, I rarely stop by the school unless I need to pick something up or drop something off.
This summer has been unlike any other in that regard. I was asked to be part of the hybrid planning committee, which was fine. Even if I hadn’t been on it, I would likely have spent part of each day thinking about how the fall might look. And that’s been the biggest problem this summer - thinking about school has become a full-time job.
I’ve known from the start that whatever the school decides to do, down to the smallest detail, we will not please everybody. But that’s normal too. I can’t remember a year where I didn’t have some parent upset about something. I don’t take any pride in that; it’s just the reality of the job.
But some real salvos have been fired at teachers and schools this summer, and from both sides of any debate about how school should resume. Being in the middle of planning is akin to sitting in the middle of the field near Gettysburg between July 1-3, 1863. And I knew it would be that way, but it’s still taken a bit of gusto out of my excitement in putting together a sound educational plan to keep kids safe.
On the other hand, I’ve still gotten plenty of reading done; I’m so excited to recommend some new books to my students! I’ve also been progressing through a Super (Hero) Summer by watching a movie each day. I started with every Marvel movie ever made, not just the more recent MCU flicks, and there were some real stinkers in there! I’m now working on DC comic book movies. I just needed a place each day to escape from all the artillery fire around education.
This may not have turned into the summer I had planned long ago, but unlike George Costanza, I’m moving forward and am excited for the new school year!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is stridor, which means a harsh, grating sound, often due to an airway obstruction, as in, “The stridor from George’s mouth was erased when he was finally able to swallow the hunk of cheese he had choked on.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!