So this is what my kids have done this summer: sailing camp, tennis camp, regular day camp, trips to the water park, days at the beach.  They built a club house in the back yard, caught crabs off our dock, caught tadpoles in our pond, grew zucchini the size of the deficit.

And here's what they had to say about it all:  why can't we just go home?

You'd think that they would love their vacation time with us, that they would be thrilled to get away from the heat of New York City in August.

But here's the bottom line: they like HOME. They like their toys, and their friends, and their rooms.  No matter that during the summer we are in a spacious house and the rest of the year we are in a crowded apartment.  Home is where the stuff is.  And they want it.

Of course it's easy to say that you'd like to be home  once you've spent your summer swimming and biking and sailing, and they probably would miss it terribly if we didn't go away.  But for all of you out there who are feeling guilty that you didn't take your kids somewhere this summer, that you had too much to do at work, or not enough cash, or whatever, think about this:  I did take my kids away, and all they want to do is go back home.

Figures.