With the exception of homeschooling families, there just isn’t as much time to hang out with kids during the traditional school year like there is during summer vacation. When my older three kids were younger, they’d learn many things by osmosis, or simply by hanging out with me all day. We’d play cards, which has a lot of lessons right there- not just counting and the difference between the four suits, but even more important things like why it’s always preferable to be a good sport.

I purposely don’t sign my kids up for lots of camps and activities in the summer because the 9-3 school day they’re coming off of after nine months has enough deadlines and restrictions to last a whole year. No, summer is the perfect time to regroup and to recharge instead.

The word “detoxing” has even come to mind these first few weeks of summer vacation. With each day I’ve noticed my kids have been fighting less and even their general attitudes have been more positive. Sure, there are good reasons for year-round school- so much academic learning can be lost in three months for one thing- but the life lessons and skills that are traded for academics are priceless.

In only three weeks of summer I’ve witnessed some things learned or reinforced- things that that just can’t be taught in school:

What the kids have learned:

• Old movies are worth watching.
• Skating, and better yet rollerdancing, to YMCA at a rink that’s even older than the song will never go out of style.
• Say “God Bless You” after somebody sneezes (why this piece of etiquette has suddenly clicked with all four of my kids after reminding them during the school year to no success is a marvel).
• Cooking and baking have a lot to do with Math.
• It’s nice to go out of your way to help when someone has a baby- my sister had twin girls two weeks ago.
• Also, even more importantly, how to cradle a newborn’s head.
• Why comparison-shopping is worth a little extra time.
• The library does, indeed, have a book for everyone, even people who think they’re not recreational readers. My sons are voracious readers- and until we found Baby-Sitters Little Sister my seven-year-old had yet to find a chapter book series she’ll  devour until this summer.
• How to cook their own eggs and toast (older ones both- little ones just the toast).
• A simple knit stitch is not that hard, and knitting is actually relaxing.
• Flipturns in the pool aren’t as hard as they look and they can shave seconds off your time when you’re racing your, ahem, mother.
• How to properly pair and fold socks. And if you don’t complain about doing it, you may even earn a nickel for each pair matched and folded. If you complain, though, this chore will go under mandatory next time.

What I’ve learned:

• Even early birds can become late bird sleepers come summer.
• The basics of Chess taught to me entirely by my soon-to-be sixth grader. I’ve yet to beat him, but he’s a better teacher than I ever imagined.
• That this same son can go away for a couple of days with another family and remember his manners without me nagging. The mother called to tell me he had good manners- like how he carried his own dishes over and washed them. That was the moment of truth!
•  Even if it’s hard to tell sometimes, our kids really are listening to us.

What have your kids already learned so far this summer?

With the exception of homeschooling families, there just isn’t as much time to hang out with kids during the traditional school year like there is during summer vacation. When my older three kids were younger, they’d learn many things by osmosis, or simply by hanging out with me all day. We’d play cards, which has a lot of lessons right there- not just counting and the difference between the four suits, but even more important things like why it’s always preferable to be a good sport.

I purposely don’t sign my kids up for lots of camps and activities in the summer because the 9-3 school day they’re coming off of after nine months has enough deadlines and restrictions to last a whole year. No, summer is the perfect time to regroup and to recharge instead.

The word “detoxing” has even come to mind these first few weeks of summer vacation. With each day I’ve noticed my kids have been fighting less and even their general attitudes have been more positive. Sure, there are good reasons for year-round school for academic reasons- so much academic learning can be lost in three months- but the life lessons and skills that are traded for academics are priceless.

In only three weeks of summer I’ve witnessed some things learned or reinforced- things that that just can’t be taught in school:

What the kids have learned:

• Old movies are worth watching.
• Skating, and better yet rollerdancing, to YMCA at a rink that’s even older than the song will never go out of style.
• Say “God Bless You” after somebody sneezes (why this piece of etiquette has suddenly clicked with all four of my kids after reminding them during the school year to no success is a marvel).
• Cooking and baking have a lot to do with Math.
• It’s nice to go out of your way to help when someone has a baby- my sister had twin girls two weeks ago.
• Also, even more importantly, how to cradle a newborn’s head.
• Why comparison-shopping is worth a little extra time.
• The library does, indeed, have a book for everyone, even people who think they’re not recreational readers. My sons are voracious readers- and until we found “The Babysitters Club: Little Sisters” my seven-year-old had yet to find a chapter book series she’ll  devour until this summer.
• How to cook their own eggs and toast (older ones both- little ones just the toast).
• A simple knit stitch is not that hard, and knitting is actually relaxing.
• Flipturns in the pool aren’t as hard as they look and they can shave seconds off your time when you’re racing your, ahem, mother.
• How to properly pair and fold socks. And if you don’t complain about doing it, you may even earn a nickel for each pair matched and folded. If you complain, though, this chore will go under mandatory next time.

What I’ve learned:

• Even early birds can become late bird sleepers come summer.
• The basics of Chess taught to me entirely by my soon-to-be sixth grader. I’ve yet to beat him, but he’s a better teacher than I ever imagined.
• That this same son can go away for a couple of days with another family and remember his manners without me nagging. The mother called to tell me he had good manners- like how he carried his own dishes over and washed them. That was the moment of truth!
•  Even if it’s hard to tell sometimes, our kids really are listening to us.

What have your kids already learned so far this summer?

As graduations and other milestones abound this time of year, it reminds me of the bittersweet moments in all parents’ lives when our kids grow and move on to a new phase a little too quickly for our comfort sometimes.  I’ve thought a lot about why these moments are bittersweet- we are so happy to see how far our children have come- to see a glimpse of the big person he or she is becoming.  Yet there’s a feeling of “they don’t need me anymore.”

I hope you can relate to this story no matter how old your children were when you felt those growing pains…

And just so you know, the baby I speak of below will begin kindergarten this fall.

———-

With an arch of her back, our symbiotic relationship was done, the ritual of breastfeeding abruptly shifting from her number one reason to wake to something that burdened her, an act that kept her cloaked from really living. It’s often said babies need nine months in the womb and nine months out before they are whole. I think it was nine months to the day that my baby, my youngest of four, proclaimed she wasn’t a baby any longer.

With only two teeth, the recently exposed world of table food held her in its grasp.  My Natalie went from nursing four times a day to one morning not wanting one more solitary drop… zilch, cold turkey, nada.

I took her to the Doctor.

“Is she sick?” I asked.

“Nope, she’s just being a stinker,” he replied.

 With a lump in my throat, my hormone levels rose each day her milk strike went on. By day four the feeling “she doesn’t need me anymore” swallowed me whole.

As silly as it sounds, that a not even mobile infant wouldn’t need her mother any longer, it’s how I was really feeling. Along with her refusal to breastfeed, no longer were her giggles and stares of admiration just for me. When others came near she suddenly came alive, the world at once exciting and colorful.

Days later I was trying to swallow the lump of sadness that choked me, vacuuming the carpet, when for the first time ever I got a call from my oldest son’s school.  He had fallen and hit his head during recess and they wanted me to bring him home for observation.  On the way to the school the choking lump let up a bit, leaving its gentle friend in its wake that hugged, “Your kids will always need you, though the shape and form of their needs will change.”

Now, each time I feel one of these parental growing pains I try to remember that phrase instead.

Epic is a mixture of several stories we’ve seen before– The Littles, Avatar, The Wizard of Oz, and Honey I Shrunk The Kids. 

The film is set when teenager Mary Katherine (aka M.K., played by Amanda Seyfried) goes to live with her eccentric father (Jason Sudeikis) after her mother dies (which is barely mentioned so will go right over most kids’ heads). The first thing that comes to mind is Rick Moranis’s character in the Honey franchise. The Dad is a mad scientist, bumbling and clueless socially. M.K. can’t relate to him and certainly doesn’t understand why he’s so engrossed in proving there’s an alternate universe of tiny people living in the forest behind their home.  Yet she quickly sees for herself that his theories are true as the plot alternates between the fantasy world of the little people she’s joined and the world of reality she wants to return to, including her father.

There are several plotlines going on at once in Epic. There is the relationship between M.K. and her father.  And in the other world, Leafman soldiers battle to preserve the life of the forest from the Boggins who wish to rot it. Beyonce plays Queen Tara, the ruler of the forest, who must choose an heir to her throne as part of the good versus evil race.  The Queen breathes her power into a pod, which must bloom before the heir is chosen. The pod ends up in M.K.’s hands, and like Dorothy with the ruby slippers M.K. doesn’t realize the power she holds when all she really wants is to go home.

The animation in Epic is stunning. It is so smooth and clear it almost doesn’t look like animation.  From the exact look of a taxicab meter to the crystal clear blades of grass, visually the film is exquisite.

The imagination for much of the film is fun too.  The highlights are the images of the natural world- flower fairies, soaring birds- and when the differences between the human and little person world are shown, like when the tiny people laugh at how slowly humans talk and move.

There are themes surrounding community, nature, and the phrase “you are never alone” is repeated throughout.

Yet overall Epic lacks originality, and for young viewers the plot is confusing because there are too many things going on at once and too many details given. For instance, why do they need to visit the caterpillar and read the scrolls?  Why can’t the heir just be chosen instead of the power transferred to a pod? My 7-year-old got a little squirmy and afterward said, “I liked it, but I didn’t understand a lot of it.”

Epic is rated PG for intense action, scary villains, and bow & arrow fighting, which results in at least one death.

Overall, Epic is recommended for children at least seven years old.

Kid Focused Grades for Epic

Compelling story line- B-

Strong message- B

Leading character is a role model- A

Sexual content – A (one kiss)

Violence- B

Suited for the whole family- A-

Overall Kid Focused Grade: B+

Epic, Rated PG

Running Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Dear Tracy,

I am sorry I can’t make your bachelorette party later this month.  I would like nothing better than to kick up my heels with you and dance, to celebrate the next wonderful chapter of your life. But you see, it’s May.

It was the writer T.S. Eliot who called April “the cruelest month,” but he obviously didn’t have kids.

Despite its short and cute name, the most petite and innocent sounding name of all the months, May is the perfect storm of craziness, when all activities come slamming together at a crowded intersection. I would love to end May with you, to enjoy your last days as a single woman.  But I’m afraid by the end of the month, I will probably be eating chocolate under the covers in a very dark room.

Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this. Ignorance is bliss, right?

By the way, I hope your honeymoon is somewhere wonderful and relaxing, and that you can spend at least a week there, but wouldn’t two weeks away really be something?

We’ve got two little league teams in full swing. That’s four games a week. There is also an entire Saturday devoted to Little League Day in May. Swim team just started, and though we have a one-sport-at-a-time policy in the Samrick house, they overlap for several weeks.  We’re at the pool three days each of those weeks. The first swim meet and one of the last baseball games fall on the same day. You can try to plan and be strict about keeping free time for the family, but somehow the calendar still fills up in May.

Will there be swimming during your bachelorette party weekend?  I’ll be with you in spirit, or maybe I’ll jump in the pool at swim practice in your honor and start a trend with all the other moms, who I know secretly want to cannonball into the pool with me, if only we could.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before then, as school gets out just before the month’s end, there is a marathon of reports to help with, last minute dashes to Michael’s, Teacher Appreciation Week, Open House, baking, Pioneer Day, end of year parties, concluding catechism classes, graduations, field trips, a First Communion to attend, and a quick jaunt up to Pollock Pines for the county Spelling Bee.

Around the house we’re contending with warm weather dress code debates, late to bed and even earlier to risers, piano recital practice, allergies, a fear of male swim coaches, and a battle with mosquitoes (which I’ve recently learned hatch, and are at their pinnacle, in May).

There are date nights to put off until June. Bunko, leisure reading and haircuts need to stand in line. But I would gladly give up any of those anyway if I could spend the weekend with you.

May is indeed the cruelest month for moms.  Thank goodness it also includes Mother’s Day. I wonder if that is a coincidence?

Don’t get me wrong. Motherhood is wonderful. You will never feel more needed or purposeful. Just beware when May rolls around!

Until then, know that I will be the first to wish you well at your wedding… in July.

Love,

Julie

It’s evident why 16-year-olds throughout America’s classrooms continue to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classicThe Great Gatsby nearly a century after it was written.  The slim novel is packed with meaningful symbols surrounding themes of class, excess, pretense, and loneliness, which are as applicable today as ever. Director Baz Luhrmann’s new movie version does a great job bringing the essence of this timeless tale to the big screen.

We see the rip roaring 1920s, or the gilded age of Post World War I, through narrator, Nick Carraway’s, eyes. Tobey Maguire is cast perfectly as the wide-eyed, impressionable, everyman who is, in essence, the viewer.  Carraway rents a house next door to the mysterious, exceedingly wealthy, golden Jay Gatsby (played perfectly by Leonardo DiCaprio).  He attends lavish, over-the-top parties at Gatsby’s and it brings to mind what it must be like today when regular folks become rich or famous overnight and must deal with the temptations having access to anything and everything must bring. The modern soundtrack Luhrmann uses will draw these parallels for young people even more so.

Gatsby and Nick live on the fictional West Egg side of Long Island, a place where people with “new money” come to indulge, facing the East Egg side of stuffy, aristocratic, “old money” where Nick’s cousin and Gatsby’s long lost lover Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan live.  Today this can be talked about in the context of how teens view social status at school and on a larger scale, social class in general. 

It’s when the wealthy go into the industrial part of town we see that the common people living there, like George and Myrtle Wilson, can’t hide behind any grandeur because there is none.  Everything about them is gritty- down to the grease and soot of their surroundings.  Because they can’t hide behind pretense, they cannot be superficial. At one point, George Wilson shows he’s the most human character in the story when the true depths of his feelings come bursting forth and Luhrmann recreates this scene so well.  No one else in the entire story shows raw emotion except when Gatsby, in one scene, is haunted by memories of his humble past.

One of the pivotal symbols in the book is the large, bespectacled pair of eyes on a billboard, a reminder that nothing can be hidden- everything will eventually be seen by God.

Despite the excess and pretense, loneliness is at this story’s core. In the age of “look at me” and Facebook, what better time to talk about this with teenagers? Chief among the lonely characters is Jay Gatsby. He has parties to fill his home with noise and people so that sadness will stay away.  One character even says, “Large parties are more intimate.  With small parties, there is no privacy.” The language in the novel is so rich and I love the way Luhrmann brings key lines from the book to the big screen.

The blinking green light at the end of Daisy’s pier is a symbol throughout the novel and is played up by Luhrmann so it can’t be ignored.  It is a silent, “come hither” teasing of what Gatsby thinks will fill his life with meaning.

Everything about Gatsby’s life is concocted to fight his impermeable sadness.  On the outside, he looks to have it all and because of his flaw of thinking money can buy happiness as well as thinking the past can be relived, Gatsby is one of literature’s most memorable tragic heroes.  When I taught The Great Gatsby I always enjoyed sharing the poem “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, written in 1897, with my students to draw comparisons:

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:


He was a gentleman from sole to crown,


Clean favored, and imperially slim.



And he was always quietly arrayed,


And he was always human when he talked; 


But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
’Good-morning,’

and he glittered when he walked.



And he was rich – yes, richer than a king -


And admirably schooled in every grace:


In fine, we thought that he was everything


To make us wish that we were in his place.



So on we worked, and waited for the light,


And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 


And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,


Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Despite the buzz that some people don’t like this movie, I absolutely loved it. Then again, if I didn’t study the book by teaching it several years in a row when I was a high school English teacher before kids, I am not sure how I’d view the film as a stand-alone.  So I am biased. From the casting of characters, to how every symbol is magnified down to the weather, it is obvious that Baz Luhrmann understands the important aspects of the book too.

I recommend The Great Gatsby to anyone who has studied the novel, so only for teens in 11^th grade or older (Juniors typically study American Literature that year and The Great Gatsby is still a core book). 

 Because of its PG-13 rating, which it deserves, children younger than 16 shouldn’t see The Great Gatsby.

Kid Focused Grades for The Great Gatsby

Compelling story line- A

Strong message- A

Leading character is a role model- A-

Sexual content – B (loud bed pounding heard in the next room, kissing)

Violence- C (one shooting, one dramatic car accident, one woman gets slapped)

Suited for the whole family- C

Overall Kid Focused Grade: B-

The Great Gatsby, Rated PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours 22 minutes

Very recently I’ve begun meal planning because until now I’ve always had the same annoying thing happen.  I’d go to the store, stock up, look at my full shelves and refrigerator and then, undoubtedly, I’d still think by the next day, What should I make for dinner?  Or worse,there’d still be a reason I’d have to go back to the store the very next day.  And most of us know it’s virtually impossible to walk out of a store only buying the one or two items on the list.

It drove me crazy!

A few months ago I took my first baby steps to meal planning by making a list of essentials food items- ones we should have in the house at all times to cut down on trips to the store. If my family at least has milk, bread, eggs, peanut butter, and fresh produce we can make do. 

It’s been a good tip, but I was still not being efficient. I was still spending like I’d bought a week’s worth of groceries, but by the 4^th day was scavenging to find something to make for dinner.

My introduction to meal planning has gone like this so far:

I spend about 45 minutes at the start of each week meal planning for at least the week. Sometimes the ingredients can stretch beyond one week. 

First I ask the kids and my husband if there’s something for dinner they’re craving. 

Then, I do some research. I might just flip through cookbooks to freshen up my standard rotation of recipes.  Some very experienced meal planning moms already have multiple recipes they rotate through each month.

I also look through our local grocery store’s coupon app to see sales for the week.  What’s on sale gives great meal planning ideas and it doesn’t have to just be for dinner.  When things are on sale, buy in bulk. Freeze the second half of the value pack of salmon, for instance, for next week’s dinner. That container of oatmeal could be for breakfast, but also to make cookies for the bake sale coming up.

In the past where I failed in meal planning was I only thought of the main course- “tacos” isn’t enough information.  Now I think about what sides will go with it. If it’s a fresh side dish, like spinach salad or melon, I plan to have those meals earlier in the week. If it’s a can of refried beans to go with tacos, I bump that meal out and put the ground turkey or beef in the freezer in the meantime.  My husband thinks it’s funny I’m so into freezing, but it’s a great time saver and it keeps food fresh.

I also didn’t take our family’s schedule into consideration before, which threw me off.  I also thought meal planning was too rigid.  Instead, I think about the week ahead- like the one night my husband gets dinner on the table. This could be a good night to have the grilled chicken because he likes to grill. Or, this could also be a good night to prep something in the crockpot that he can just put on the table. The night the boys had flag football games would be a picnic night so the homemade pizza might be good for then.

This is part of the 45 minutes, looking ahead at our week.  I’ve learned it doesn’t have to be rigid. If something surprise comes up, no big deal. You’ll still have the ingredients for another night. I found myself switching a couple of nights when things came up and it still worked great.

The best surprise has been the kids’ reactions.  They love checking to see what’s for dinner and there hasn’t been the complaining I thought there’d be- No, “But I don’t like xyz!”  They’ve been excited to see “what’s on the menu” instead.

And the biggest payoff? I go on average six days without one visit to the store.  A little bit of planning has definitely saved me time, aggravation, and money. Plus, our dinners have been more interesting because of the full thought put into them.

It’s hard to keep movie spinoffs fresh, and so is the case with Iron Man 3.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, defense contractor turned Iron Man in the third installment of the popular comic book series.  In the first Iron Man we see his bumpy transformation into a strong fighter of crime. Then that sequel gravitates toward his budding relationship with his assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). At one point in Iron Man 3, Stark says of his suit of armor, “it’s been my cocoon,” because after a series of glitches and meltdowns, Stark is forced out of it, spending most of the time having to prove the kind of tenacity he has on his own, which isn’t saying much.

A mad scientist, the motorized suits he’s created are taking over Tony Stark’s life and his live-in girlfriend, Pepper, has grown exasperated.  Downey is typecast as the quirky, smart man with a dry sense of humor, and his casting as an imperfect Iron Man has been a large part of the film’s success.  However, for kids’ viewing eyes, Tony Stark comes across as a jerk- so narcissistic he doesn’t put anyone first- not his girlfriend (whom he doesn’t even ask to marry). Not a little boy who is begging for a male role model. Not even the President of the United States. The less powerful superhero, Iron Patriot, played by Don Cheadle, wins as the best hero of this film any day.

The external battles this time around are against the ethics of science and a new procedure called Extremis, which regenerates sick or wounded people into soulless terminators.  Wreaking havoc on an even larger, televised scale is a bearded terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), playing the archetype of anti-American destruction and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Osama bin laden.

Both science and terrorist conflicts point to a larger theme- the main takeaway young people will get from Iron Man 3 is to be even more cynical about our military and domestic safety. And, the next time we think a terrorist is an anti-American extremist, look to your own friends and neighbors instead. I’d prefer not to sink those messages into my kids’ brains.

The film is generously given a PG-13 rating although it contains graphic violence, bombings, shootouts, drugs, and sexually explicit scenes (including one with two women in a bed and a man is just about to join them). Iron Man is also a self-indulgent playboy who sleeps around (another point of conflict between Pepper and a one night stand).

Although this film is a huge blockbuster right now, I say skip it. 

Kid Focused Grades for Iron Man 3

Compelling story line- C

Strong message- D

Leading character is a role model- D

Sexual content – D

Violence- D

Suited for the whole family- D

Overall Kid Focused Grade: D

Iron Man 3, Rated PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

It’s the year 2077 and Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is a man whose memories have been erased just as the planet has been obliterated of all living things after a war 60 years before. Scavengers (Scavs) destroyed Earth’s moon, sending the rest of mankind to live on Titan.  Harper is one of two humans left on earth to perform drone maintenance in the hopes that any remaining resources may be salvaged.

Harper and his girlfriend, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), are the “clean up crew” before they’re set to leave for Titan in a matter of days.  Victoria is ready to go, but Jack can’t reconcile the flashbacks he has of life before the war, which leaves him hopeful there is still a chance he can stay. 

When a third human is found (Olga Kurylenko), their routine life is challenged, and a string of events set off a chain reaction, making the characters question everything they’ve ever known as truth.

The action, music, and visuals are the best parts of Oblivion. Parents will have flashbacks of Top Gun as Tom Cruise soars and plummets in a spacecraft for his missions, bringing to mind the flying tricks and intensity of the film that propelled him to action star status more than 25 years ago.

The exciting soundtrack adds to the thriller as well.

Visually, Oblivion is a stunner. As all life has left Earth, its color has gone too. A good portion of it was filmed in Iceland and it’s easy to see why- the arctic tundra is the perfect setting for a bleak, post-apocalyptic America.

Older children will appreciate how the future is imagined.  Tom Cruise clings to small artifacts of America’s past- books, records, a Yankees cap, etc. He is haunted by America in its glory days when he sees a dilapidated football stadium, a gutted New York City library, and a mere skeleton of the Empire State Building.

Themes to talk about with older children could include: What could the distant future look like and why? What might life be like after a nuclear war? What are the pros and cons to technology replacing humans? What is irony and how is it central to the movie?  What does ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ mean?

However, there are certainly no giggles or laughs in this film- it’s all seriousness. And the science fiction plot is hard to follow.  Oblivion definitely seems longer than its 2 hour running time.

And for Morgan Freeman fans, sorry to disappoint, but he plays only a minor, supporting role.

Oblivion earns at least its PG-13 rating for language, guns, violence, loud noises, and one steamy sex scene.

Kid Focused Grades for “Oblivion”

Compelling story line: B-

Strong message: C

Leading character is a role model: C+

Sexual content: D (naked woman jumps into pool and pulls Cruise in, kissing)

Violence: C (guns, drones, loud explosions, etc.)

Suited for the whole family: D (only for older teens, and then only for sci-fi fans) 

Overall Kid Focused Grade: C-/ D+

Oblivion, Rated PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

My daughter loves cantaloupe, but I used to stay away from them unless it was melon season- summer.  

That is until I learned a little trick:

If you buy a cantaloupe at the store and sniff it, you can tell it’s ripe if you get a whiff of that sweet cantaloupe smell. However, if you don’t smell anything it means the cantaloupe isn’t ripe.  Never fear…Put it in the cart anyways!

Bring it home and wrap it in a grocery bag.  Leave the cantaloupe in a cool, dark place for 24-48 hours.  When you take it out, give it a smell and you will find it’s ripe. Works like a charm every time and we’ve been enjoying the melon all winter and spring.

Enjoy!