As summer comes to a close and back to school looms, I wanted to take a day to just unwind and spend with my two kids. It was a fun (and for the most part, free) day. We began our day at the library. My five-year-old really enjoyed it! He was excited to see all the books in one place. He looked up at me and asked “Are all of these books looking to be read?” I smiled and said “Yes son, all of the books are hoping a young boy or girl takes them home.” He said “Well, what are we waiting for?! Let’s make some books happy!” That made me laugh and smile. He found two books for him and his older brother and then we sat down and played with the Legos. After about thirty minutes we made our way to the counter. The kids got to make their library card accounts and also got to get a free book for signing up! I even left with a Garfield book.

After the library we headed to the 7-Eleven for Slurpees. I popped open the tailgate on my truck and the three of us sat in the back on the truck bed. A nice lady saw us and asked if she could take our photo; she took it with my phone so we would have a keepsake picture from the day.

While slurping, we talked about the upcoming school year, Disneyland, the new bear statue by the gas station on West F Street – which replaced a dinosaur that had been there – among other things.

After we got home and ate lunch, we took a walk around our complex and ended up at the park. The kids really enjoy going for walks and spending time at the park. We played and hung out for just over an hour and headed back home to read our books and get ready for dinner.

Although this day did not require much money, it will go down as one of my favorite days of the summer break. Any time spent with my children is a highlight of my busy days. We are only granted 24 hours in a day. It is up to us to make the most of that time.

Dennis D. Cruz is a staff reporter for The Oakdale Leader, The Riverbank News and The Escalon Times. He may be reached at drcruz@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.