Summers with the Kaplan Crew
If you ask me, my birthday, July 3rd, is the best birthday on the calendar. It sits far enough from the winter holidays to feel special and comes with a guaranteed day off the next day. As a kid, it meant pool parties, barbecues, and always, fireworks. Now, as a dad and a real estate agent, it still means celebration, but with a little less excitement about being another year older, a little more SPF, and often a quick reply to a client text or two between High Noons.
Summer for our family is a patchwork of traditions, new and old, stitched together by school schedules, camp registrations, and the occasional travel deal. This year, our oldest son, Jack (11), is spending part of his summer at sleepaway camp in Michigan. It’s a bit of a change from the last two years, when he went to Camp Thunderbird in Bemidji, Minnesota, which is a place with deep family roots. His mom, uncle, and grandfather all went there, and Jack followed in their footsteps for a couple of summers. But with middle school on the horizon and his tight-knit elementary school crew heading in different directions soon, Jack wanted one last hurrah with the gang. We said yes, of course, even if it meant navigating some extra logistics and duffel bags bigger than he is.
Meanwhile, our younger son, Elan (7), has been holding down the fort back home with sports camps, where he was recently named MVP on tournament day – a title he reminds us of often. When he’s not at camp, you can find him in our backyard launching tennis balls across the lawn and over the fence with his baseball bat in all directions, pitched by yours truly. We’re still waiting for the neighbors to complain or for a bill for a broken window, but so far, we think the sheer joy of watching a 7-year-old swing for the fences might be buying us some goodwill.
We also took a quick trip back in time (and across the country) to Nags Head, North Carolina, for a few days at the beach with my mom. From ages seven to ten, I spent a week there each summer, boogie boarding and digging moats in the sand. Walking those same beaches with my own kids and seeing what’s changed and what hasn’t over more than 35 years was surprisingly nostalgic. The salt air and seafood still hit the same, and I even picked up a new boogie board for old time’s sake. The kids’ favorite part was a jet ski excursion through Currituck Sound, where they each held onto a parent for dear life as dad and mom hit the throttle. Despite being sore from all the bumps, they can’t wait to go back.
We’ll finish off summer with one of our newer traditions: a father-sons day at Lake Gregory, followed by an evening at the arcade and pizzeria at Lake Arrowhead Village. We started doing this a few summers ago, and it’s become one of those low-key but high-memory kinds of trips. The inflatable obstacle course on the lake is a favorite, and I’ve finally learned the trick to not pulling a hamstring every time I try to keep up.
Of course, while the kids are out of school, mom and dad still have jobs to do, so summer break for them also means a patchwork of camps, grandparents, and creative scheduling. We’re lucky to live in a community where we can send the kids to sports camp in the morning, enjoy a dinner out in the evening, and squeeze in some backyard tennis ball bombs in between.
Every season has its rhythm and Summer is for memory-making. It’s when the longer days stretches things out just a little bit more, even if the calendar fills up faster than we’d like. As I tell my clients (and remind myself): enjoy the season you’re in, whether that’s the season of camp pickups or condo hunting.
Wishing all of The Neighbors of Playa Vista a sunny and joyful summer.