Is there any better feeling than hearing that final school bell ring on the last day of class, signaling the official start of summer vacation?

Remember the rush of utter joy and freedom at bursting from the classroom at the sound of that bell and pitching your doodle-filled Pee-Chee folder into the trash as you sprint headlong into the hot June sun? Next stop, Sandy Beach! Woo-hoo!

When you're young, summer seems endless.

Pau-hana Friday or a vacation's eve are about as close as grownups get to recapturing a glimmer of that last-day-of-school elation, but those occasions are diminished by the knowledge that work will be waiting for us when we return.

I still get caught up watching the kids eagerly count down the days until summer, but students and teachers aren't the only ones glad to see the school year draw to a close. Count me among the relieved. Summer means no more 5:55 a.m. wakeups to get the Boy moving in time to make the school bus. No more missed-the-bus Spam musubi runs (breakfast of champions!). No more frantic attempts to freshen up P.E. clothes forgotten at the bottom of a backpack with a quick spin in the dryer and a couple squirts of Febreze.

And especially, no more homework. I can actually look forward to coming home from work to a stress-free evening devoid of spelling quizzes, diorama duty, science-fair folderol and math madness. Woo-hoo, indeed. During the school year, it feels like I'm leaving one job for another at the end of the day, punching the clock at home for the dinner-homework-bedtime crunch.

Still, summer has its own routines and demands. There's home lunch for summer fun, back-to-back paddling and soccer practices, and weekend canoe regattas. And since it's usually still light out when I pull into the driveway, the dog fully expects a bonus walk.

Other signs that summer is here: the full head of fragrant, yellow blossoms on the plumeria tree across the street, and the canoe paddles, bodyboards and wet swimsuits that have begun filling the hallways. In the days to come, beach towels will disappear and resurface as new ones of unknown origin turn up in the laundry stream. I counted last summer a success partly because we ended up with a net gain of three towels.

Summer also means the reappearance of sand. Everywhere. This despite the frequent refrain: "Don't take your surf shorts off until you're in the shower!"

This year there are a few twists: The Girl is home from her first year at college, and the Boy is going to California for a soccer tournament. I'm glad school officials are considering adjusting the calendar to fit in an extra week of summer vacation. I need that time to transition and to track down that elusive extra-fine-point Sharpie on the school-supply list.

In the meantime, let the summer games begin, and the one with the most beach towels at the end wins.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.