Your days are numbered.

And for many, the numbers are in the single digits.

The long, lazy days of summer that seemed in June to stretch in front of us and reach to the horizon are about to butt headlong into the frantic, frenetic days of fall.

School. Homework. Soccer practice.

Don’t think you’re exempt if your kids are still among those who toddle as opposed to those who slog with backpacks. The nights are getting shorter already. Those post-dinner trips to the neighborhood playground will soon become a memory, swallowed up by the gathering darkness.

So what are you going to do about it?

May we humbly suggest that you get out there and make some memories? And because we’re waxing rhapsodic here, we’ll even posit that you can do that without spending a dime.

Before alarms need tot be set again or before the boss comes back from vacation, take a little time out to ...

• Share your best summer memory.

The time you and your dad got stuck on the top of the Ferris wheel. Or when you caught your first fish and your mom freed it from the hook so you could toss it back into the pond. Or how your family gathered on your grandmother’s porch to watch shooting stars.

• Stare at the clouds.

Columnist Anna Quindlen once wrote that “staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky” as a child helped form her as a writer. So take your child, lie on the grass and look upward. Within two minutes, you’ll be delighting each other with found dragons and unicorns, hippopotamuses and giraffes. But don’t be surprised if your child finds more critters in the clouds at first than you do. Your imagination just might need to be exercised a bit.

• Catch fireflies or ladybugs.

At some point you might want to share with your child that it’s only male fireflies that light up in what is a mating ritual as old as creation. But don’t let the science lesson overshadow the glee of stretching hands toward the sky to gently capture — or not — lightning bugs.

Perhaps the real lesson to impart is Robert Browning’s “A man’s reach should exceed the grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

• Go for a bike ride.

But not one of those beautiful but dutiful family rides on a path where single file must be maintained to avoid dogs, walkers and other bikers. Instead let your kids see you go screeching down the hill in the neighborhood, riding with no hands or popping a wheelie. Wear a helmet, but let your child discover that behind the watchful eye of a parent, still lives the mischievous hint of the child inside.

• Breathe.

Deeply and slowly so that your chest expands to fill with the magic of the season. Drink in the season’s air. Let your child see you do this. Maybe even spread your arms wide, take your child’s hand and twirl until you both fall drunk in the best of possible ways to the grass. Laugh.

• Look into your child’s face and smile.

You are looking at your masterwork, your greatest responsibility, your legacy. Let him see the unspeakable love that you feel. It’s the very definition of a summer love.

Some families weary of summer break

By Lisa Fernandez
San Jose Mercury News

Ahhhh, summer. Lazy days, hanging out with the kids, no looming homework assignments or crazy after-school sports schedules. No guilt over keeping the kids up till midnight to watch Michael Phelps win another gold.

But listen closely to the conversations at the gym and on the playground: Oh-so-tired stay-at-home moms, and dads too, are eager for the school bells to ring again.

These parents are telling, perhaps a bit guiltily, anyone who will listen that they’re anxious for their bored and bickering kids to get out of their hair. And they’re looking for any advice on how to spend the last week of summer vacation away from the lure of Nickelodeon and the Wii.

“How am I going to entertain them so that they’re not fighting?’’ Rachel Paccassi, 28, of San Jose said of spending the day with her three sons. “They fight about anything, really. Toys. Attention. Couch space. TV shows. My goal is to keep them busy and tire ’em out.’’

There’s no Census count to quantify how many people are sick of summer break. Teachers probably aren’t. But the theme has definitely bubbled up in public consciousness. Try Googling the phrase, “tired of summer vacation’’ and you’ll find that Los Gatos, Calif., computer artist Miles Cooley, 20, designed an interactive Yahoo eCard asking just that question.

He sold the card to Yahoo for $200 and doesn’t know how many people have shared it with friends. But he said he was inspired to create the graphic when his family was helping him brainstorm back-to-school ideas.

“Hey, some people might actually get tired of summer,’’ he recalls someone saying. “It just kind of came from there. Personally, I don’t really get tired of summer.’’

Porter Wong, 50, of Cupertino, Calif., admits he does. He’s been off work the last several months. Home with the kids, Megan, 11, and Andrew, 8. And oh, does he need a break.

“Fighting?’’ Wong said, standing outside the Cupertino library one recent afternoon. “It’s all the time. About everything.’’

To stave off the bickering, Wong has offered his children a steady diet of activities: theme parks, the library, public tennis courts and swimming in Mountain View, Calif.

He’s even mandated math and reading time at home. But Wong will be grinning from ear to ear when he drops his kids off for the first day of school Thursday.

“I’m ready for them to get back to their regular routine and do some learning,’’ he said, “instead of them just playing video games and movies.’’

Surprisingly, it’s not just parents. Some children are looking forward to getting back to the grind, too.

“I miss my friends,’’ said Deepa Marti, 7, of Cupertino. “I’m a bit tired of camp. It’s getting boring.’’

SHARE THE FUN

Send your favorite memories of summer 2008 to robin.weber@lee.net for inclusion at the bottom of this story online.