Cute stories, everyone, thanks for sharing. I feel for those poor kids who thought grown-ups got summers off--that must come as quite a shock, especially if you made it all the way to college thinking that! This time of year, I always think I should have gone into teaching (the rest of the year, not so much).
I do remember being bummed when I graduated from college and had to work in the same job year 'round. Not that I didn't work every, but I enjoyed the change of pace and knowing that I could choose to do something different every summer. The future of work just seemed to stretch out endlessly before me.
I like the story about the mom working at Target. Reminds me of when my son was little, I told him we were meeting a friend and her kids at the zoo and he said, "But I thought they lived at the Children's Museum." Because we always saw them there, he assumed it was their house. Not a bad place to live!