I really do love summer, really I do. By the time the end of the school year arrives, I just want to be with the kids and take a break from the crazy schedule we have all kept for 9 months. In other words, it's time to sleep in a little later and not hit the ground running every day the minute our eyes open. Since our kids aren't and never have been late sleepers, everyone is awake by atleast 8:00 which though only an hour is a much better hour than 7:00.
I love lazy mornings when at 10:00, a child who comes to snuggle with me still smells like sleep because said child is still clothed in jammies. I love seeing the kids play board games or computer games during those lazy mornings. The best vantage point is from the back with the clearest view of the bed heads. These are good mornings for book reading, net surfing and casual laundry doing.
On the other hand, I also love those summer mornings when it's actually time to do chores and we get up and get productive. Mornings when, at 10am, there is already visible progress in the cleanliness of our home. With the promise of an afternoon outing to the pool or the museum, the kids chip right in mostly without argument or pushy parental persuasion.
I love summer days when the kids spend most of their time outside whether in the backyard with its many distractions or in the front with their neighborhood friends. I love seeing them come in all sweaty and red faced. They may complain about the heat but after a drink and an Ice P*p they go right back out again.
This summer had plenty of both kinds of days. Toss in several trips to Oklahoma and Colorado to see family and you have the recipe for a good summer, right?So why do I feel like this summer could have been so much better? I guess I never felt like I got a good grip on summer. In between trips I was busy and playing catch up on church stuff. When I finally got a handle on being home, managing housework and other responsibilies and taking the kids to do fun summer activities, it was time for another trip with its required prep time. Blech. I guess I am saying I have regrets.
But, guess what? These four little ones got to be carefree kids for almost three months. They got to go swimming a lot which, as every parent knows, is number one summer priority. They got to eat lots of popsicles and ice cream. They got to have a little bit later bedtime for crying out loud!
So, I don't think they have any regrets. And that is what counts.
