BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO REALITY

JASON FUGATE creative director jason@akersmediagroup.com

VOLKAN ULGEN art director volkan@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer josh@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer // fred@akersmediagroup.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

FRED HILTON, RICHARD T. BOSSHARDT M.D., JAIME ALONSO, SUSAN PEIRCE THOMPSON, PH.D., K. ONG, JOY STEPHENSON-LAWS, JD.

SALES // MARKETING

TIM MCRAE / vice president of sales tim@akersmediagroup.com

MIKE STEGALL advertising executive mike@akersmediagroup.com

TATIANNA GELIGA advertising executive tatianna@akersmediagroup.com

There is always so much excitement that comes at the end of a school year. When summer comes, it’s time to relax, take a vacation, and just slow down for a while. But not for me, especially being the mother of three college students and a toddler (said no one…ever.) For me, summer means madness.

During the summer break, my home can be a complete chaotic, beautiful disaster. My college kids are coming and going, each with different plans day-to-day, and then those plans change on a whim. I never know who will be home for dinner, who is going out, and what I can cook for dinner. I must take into consideration special dietary needs for my eldest daughter, so no corn or gluten on the nights she is home. They tell me they will not be home for dinner, so I make a small meal, and then guess what, “Mom…we are going to be home for dinner now!” With an hour’s notice, I hurry and cook something else for them to eat. Or, we pack the meal away for the next day and order out. Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? I have not even begun to tell you about my toddler, Conner.

Little Conner needs a paragraph all to himself. During the school year, Conner goes to pre-k three days a week for four hours a day. Doesn’t seem like much, but for me, it is valuable, peaceful time at home. I can work from home, uninterrupted, and get months of editorial planning done in just a few hours. When Conner is not in school, call the guards, because there is a maniac on the loose. He wakes up at 6am, doesn’t take naps, and wants to get into every drawer in the house—especially ones he is not supposed to be in—and is still raring to go until about 9pm when I finally insist that he go to sleep. I swear he is going to grow up believing his full name is “No, Conner.”

JACQUELYN SINGER advertising executive jacquelyn@akersmediagroup.com

CREE HOWARD sales executive assistant cree@akersmediagroup.com

ADMINISTRATION

DEB MATLOCK / office manager deb@akersmediagroup.com

AUBREY AKERS / advertising coordinator aubrey@akersmediagroup.com

DISTRIBUTION

SCOTT HEGG / distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com

DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA

GARRETT REARDON / digital specialist garrett@akersmediagroup.com

During the school year, all my kids seem to be more focused and task oriented, even little Conner. There are set routines, I know where my older kids are, and I know which child will be home for dinner. No surprises. So, for me, the school year comes with predictability and stability.

While I do love my family and all the craziness that comes with summer break, I thoroughly enjoy when they go back to school, because, for me, it’s back to reality.

Until next month, Kendra Akers

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