End of Summer Blues

Well, here we are on the eve of the final week of summer break, and I'm feeling sad. Usually I am more than ready by this time to send the kids back to school and regain some semblance of a routine and some peace and quiet around the house for a few hours every day. But it's different this year.

We've had a really great summer, and I think that's what's making it so hard to say goodbye to it. Last summer we were in (barely) survival mode, Michael having come through major surgery and with months of recuperation and cancer treatment to get through. The summer before that we were shell-shocked from the aftermath of Finn's birth. And it seems like every summer before that for the last several years I've either been very pregnant and cranky or we've been adjusting to a new addition to the family. This summer was different. Everything seemed more vivid, more alive. I guess that's appreciation for having come through the things we've come through. It's been a very busy summer, too, what with our little trip up the coast, five solid weeks of swim lessons, continued dance and music lessons, Finn's therapy, my weekend away with friends . . . I know I had some goals that I had hoped to accomplish this summer, namely learning how to take better pictures and (finally) putting together some photo books. I didn't accomplish either of those things, but it's okay. We lived life, and it's been good.

Kevin was very productive this summer. He's become in very high demand for tutoring, and tutored five kids over the summer. He also had his first foray into babysitting kids other than his siblings. It is so nice to hear other parents rave about your kid - I guess it's validation for all the hard work you put into raising them to be good people, you know? Anyway, we charged Kevin with the responsibility of raising $250 towards his eighth grade trip to Washington DC - I just really want to instill in my kids the value of a dollar and the value of working to earn things rather than just having everything handed to them. The DC trip isn't until May of next year, so he had lots and lots of time to raise that money. Do you know that he raised all of it and more over the summer between babysitting, tutoring, allowance, and a holding a couple of lemonade stands? I'm very proud of him.

I think I am actually going to miss the kids when they go back to school next week. Kevin is dragging his feet a bit, but I think he'll be happy to be back once he gets into the swing of eighth grade. Eighth grade! Holy cow. Next year he'll be in high school (can you hear my hear cracking?). Joey is very excited about going back to school, as are the twins. I worry about how the twins will do - it's quite a leap from kindergarten to first grade. Lilah is starting preschool as well. She'll be going to the same preschool that Joey and the twins went to, and she's excited - she is so ready for it. I don't know if mama is, though. I swear it was just last week that she was a newborn and I was carrying her in a sling to take Joey to preschool. And now here she is, her turn. My chickees are leaving the nest. So Finn and I will have three mornings a week together, just me and him, and I'd sure like to make the most of that time.

As for this last week of summer, it's going to be busy with getting ready for back-to-school. Probably won't be much time for sentimental tears.