Summertime Blues

The last day of school is filled with so much hope of the summer days ahead. School is over, 3 months of fun in the sun, lounging at the lake or around the pool, popsicles, the ice cream truck, lemonade, sleeping in, sleeveless shirts, no shoes, fireflies, campfires, s’mores, and endless days with family and friends! Yippee! Life is about to get a whole lot more fun.

But wait – this is the reality for my kids, not me! What I have to look forward to on the last day of school (as a work from home mom) are two kids that will play so nicely together for about a week and then the other 90 days they will fight like cats and dogs. The endless arguing – “That’s mine, I had it first!,” or “Mom, she hit me!” or “Mom, I’m soooo hungry!” “Mom, when are we doing this,” “Mom, I’m so bored” “Mom, when are we going here”, or “Are we there yet,” or “why, why, why, mom, mom, mom!”…….. you get the picture. But today, is a day I have been looking forward to for most of the summer. Today is the first day of school! Yippee!

I welcome the daily routine with open arms (and some of my sanity, as it returns) though I will miss the slowness of the nowhere-to-go-before-8:30-in-the-morning feeling. I thankfully won’t have to see endless granola bar wrappers all over the place and will relish in the quiet of the house as I walk in after they are gone. Though I will miss seeing them as they put together a puzzle on the floor or their puppy dog eyes when they ask me to play “baby” with them. Or the squeals when I say, “It’s time to get ready for swim lessons!”

I can’t wait for pumpkin everything (!), cooler weather, at least 4 hours of uninterrupted work time and closing the door to pee, (knowing, with full satisfaction, there is no one in the house to barge in). Though, as I sit on my computer trying to concentrate at the proposal I’m working on, I will be listening for the melody of sing-songy little voices that aren’t there and wonder if they are making a new friend, or what song they might be singing at school at that very moment.

The first day of school for a mom (or dad) is like the first day of summer for a kid. So much promise for the days ahead, so much to look forward to. So much fun to be had. But those little faces, I will miss while they are gone. My time I will cherish because in the blink of an eye I will wake up and it will be ten years from now and those sing-songy little voices will be all grown up asking me where her favorite jeans are or why are we out of her milk…As much as I look forward to the future, I am trying to keep the now tucked in my mind so that every once in a while, I can pull it out and smile at the babies they once were.

As much as we might complain about the lack of time to get anything done or the lack of peace and quiet throughout our days – just remember, with the start of school – the holidays are just around the corner!

Happy Back to school!!!!!!!