To say this most fleeting of all seasons snuck up on me this year is an understatement. Even as the end-of- school trips and activities wound down, I remained steadfast in my denial. Sure, the calendar said June –but I was stuck somewhere back in April. Now holiday season is so close, I can see right past it almost to the other side.

But with an exuberant 12-year-old at home, full of the joy that only a kid on summer vacation can possess, I’m left wracking my brain to find a way to balance our family adventure time with (sigh) a seriously unadventurous family budget.

In the past, our vacations have been pretty low-key, so we really don’t have very high precedents to live up to. Day trips to Niagara Falls or weekend visits to Uncle Brian in Gravenhurst have been some standouts in summers gone by. But now that Lisa’s approaching the teen years, we were hoping to stretch our wings a bit, maybe take a train trip, see a bit of the country, make some memories.

Well, unless something miraculously unexpected occurs in the very near future, those memories will still get made...just a lot closer to home.

Unlike the rest of the economy, the Jefferies household hasn’t really undergone any kind of dramatic “restructuring” or had a “rightsizing.” In fact, things were bopping along pretty good.

...then we noticed that the dryer wasn’t, well, drying. Since we have a clothesline and plenty of air outside, we opted to put off buying a new one. After all, we have the spring and summer to research and find the best price, right?

...then the annoying noise in Leon the Neon’s front end got too obnoxious to ignore. Alas, our worst fears were realized; after a visit to the garage: we were hearing his death rattle. After more than 250,000 km, his struts just gave out –and new ones cost more than the going price for a 1997 Dodge 4- cylinder. But again, with summer upon us there is no real rush to replace it, so we have time – you got it –to look around and find a good deal.

...then my car also started rattling. It’s a 2004 model, so there’s plenty of life left in it. And with a $600 repair bill, we’ll be sure to get it.

Factor in our seriously complicated care and feeding regimen for our geriatric pets, and an extended period away from home just isn’t in the cards anytime soon. Christie and Valens, here we come! And we’ll be easy to spot: we’ll be the ones pushing an ailing vehicle down the road as our laundry, hanging from the radio antenna to dry, flaps in the wind.