SUMMER

I normally get excited about organizing school supplies and getting new school clothes for the boys.  But, whatever.  It’s pencils and I’m over them.  And boys back to school shopping is boring.  There is only so much you can do with a t-shirt.

My woes for the end of summer are endless and more exaggerated than ever before.  Before, I used to love all the seasons equally, appreciating the bonfires of fall, the fragrance of spring, the festivities of winter, and the warmth of summer.   But now…. Summer. Trumps. ALL.

Fall, you can have your bonfires and programmed activities.  There are too many things that have a start time with you.

Winter, your festivities are expensive and stressful.  And you are dark waaaaay too early.

Spring, you are long and unpredictable.  I never know if you are going to be warm and beautiful or wet and annoying.

Summer, you are my hero.  You are the wind beneath my wings…what with your unrushed mornings, your pool time afternoons, your garden veggie dinners, your family vacations, your never having to match socks, your girlfriend coffee nights, your come explore the earth attitude.  You and I are kindred spirits and you have spoiled me more than usual this year.  You sweet thing, you.

My anxiety is elevated just THINKING about having to corral all of my children and my husband and myself to our respective locations by 7:30 a.m. – scratch that – 7:20 a.m.  Why? Oh because someone thought our kids weren’t learning enough, so they made the day longer.  And by longer I mean they made it start earlier.  So I am losing 10 morning minutes.  Morning minutes are more precious than all the gold in the world and should be regarded as such. You’ve taken my gold County School Board. One morning minute can make the difference between remembering snack, library books, lunch money and signing all those stinking papers.  And I am going to have to function on 10 less of them.  I can’t figure out what can go….breakfast? oral hygiene?  Shoes that tie?  Because there is NO WAY I can make anyone get up any earlier.  I already think it cruel and usual to awake a sleeping child for any reason other than a fire.  We can be anywhere by 9 a.m.  But 7:20?? It’s a slow death, my friend.

Have I worried that my children’s brains have atrophied from lack of stimulation? Sure. Have I rented one too many romantic comedies? Probably.  Are my kids tired of me making them swim off their energy every afternoon because we are going to get every penny out of that pool membership? They kinda are.

But the sweet and sultry air, the late sunsets, the water, the barefoot driving….all so glorious and needed.  I don’t just love summer…I need it.  It reestablishes equilibrium in my spirit to have breathed the ocean air and sipped sweet iced tea on the porch and eaten tomatoes from my garden.  The recharge, the extended Sabbath, is what propels me through the year (and by year, we all know that means September – May).

Summer, you were just what I needed.  You filled me to overflowing.  You made me ready to face my upcoming demands.  I hate to see you go, but I have to go to work and my children need to learn to read and add and such, so we must part ways.

I’ll just keep this image tucked into my memory (and on every screensavor that I own)…until we meet again….