There is a saying, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Maybe for some, but not this year if you live on the coast. The jury is still out on the April showers saying – the azaleas bloomed, but they’re almost required to due to the Azalea Festival – an annual Wilmington event which had its 79th anniversary this year. Now, we come to May.

For many parents and grandparents, May was the month to start getting their ducks in a row, knowing the calendar would flip to June in the blink of an eye. That may still be the case, but no longer for everyone. Public schools follow a calendar set by the city/county school board. Private schools, on the other hand, can make the decision of when to start and end as long as they get in the required number of days.

I thought back to my school days – believe me, that took a while as it was a long, long time ago. As all my grands had more than a week off for spring break, I couldn’t recall if I even had one. In doing some research, it appears my break was usually the Thursday leading up to Easter and the Monday after Easter. Not really much time to take a trip away from home.

My Charlotte grandchildren had a bit of a hiccup as one child is still in private school, while the other two are now in public schools. Naturally, their breaks did not coincide. While it wasn’t the ideal situation, they worked it out with everyone having a great time.

Back to “now we come to May”…

I doubt that I am the only one that started school the day after Labor Day and had summer vacation beginning in the middle of June. I’m sure my mom, who dealt with my sister and I while my dad was at work, had times when she counted the days until school started again. For me, although there were several slow days, September seemed to come fast.

Where most schools still get out in early June, two of my grandchildren will now get out this month. Last year, their school announced that they were changing the calendar to a mid-August start and mid-May finish. Where this is fine with my daughter, I wonder if all the parents were happy for the change. After school programs may or may not have space for any more children, while sitters, grandparents or other family members would all need to arrange their schedules to be available. It may be a combination of several options to make sure they have a workable situation for the few weeks until their usual summer care is available. It may have working parents taking their summer vacation in May in order to be there for the weeks they used to be in school.

The first year of a changed schedule should be the only one that could pose some difficulties. After that, it may turn out to be a decision everyone appreciates. I know the children will love getting out in May while some of their friends, or even their siblings, are still sitting in a classroom waiting for the month of June. Of course, the shoe will be on the other foot when they’re still out and the other children are heading back ahead of them!