Gap week blues

Now comes Gap Week, the aptly named five days between the end of summer programs for kids and the start of the school year.

In our house, I've taken to calling it Abyss Week. I may have a flair for the melodramatic, but still, this is a major pain-in-the-butt time of year.

After making plans and spending much cash to be sure their little darlings are safe and occupied during the summer, working parents must now figure out a Plan B that gets the kids through till academics commence.

My employers don't yet know it, but I may have to declare a guerilla take-your-daughter-to-work day at least one of those days. I might also have to scrounge up a vacation day or two, not to mention a willing friend or relative to keep the Little Girl out of trouble.

It seems the guys who run the summer programs and the schools could communicate better to avoid the gap. The cynical part of me believes that it's all done on purpose – a malevolent move created by child-caring institutions just to show mom and dad who wields the real power.

That's probably far-fetched. Still, the world of education remains based on the antiquated notion that there's always a parent at home, able to take care of the children, run the bake sales, and volunteer in the classroom.

For a divorced dad like me, the sooner that educators can pull their heads out of the 1940s, the better off we'll all be.