Good-Bye Summer

Good-bye summer. I miss you already and yet summer is not officially over. Today a preview of autumn played in heavy rotation across the Pacific Northwest. Rain pounded the pavement and storm drains gulped in the steady streams. The sun rested sulkily behind tufts of gray clouds while tree branches hung low, soaked through from the incessant rain. I was hoping to spend the last days of summer, listening to water sloshing over the sides of the backyard kiddie pool, removing watermelon rinds from the cutting board, and reading on the front porch while wearing sunglasses over my reading glasses. Those summer days seem so long ago, and in just a couple of days, school will begin.

Last week the girls dressed right after breakfast, a ritual we abandoned at the start of summer. The bedtime routine wasn’t strictly enforced during the break so the girls were free to "whoop it up" a little later than usual. There will be no more of this. Now that we’re getting back into school mode I, too, am trying to get to bed earlier so that I will be less grumpy each morning as I hustle my children off to school. With Sammy starting 2nd grade and Alex starting Pre-K, there is a lot of trepidation and I’m hoping all of this pre-planning will help ease them {and me} into the new schedule.

As kooky as this may sound, I’m comforted by the fact that thousands of other moms are out there doing exactly as I am . . . transitioning. It’s a dance we mothers take very seriously and if done just right, it can be the difference between a happy household and a sad one. I know the transition will take some time, and we’re probably all going to be in tears by the end of the first week, but I’m confident that it will work out. It always does.

The good news is that I still intend to hope for sunnier days . . . at least until the calendar officially denotes the start of fall. Though it may feel like autumn, I'm still celebrating summer until the bitter end. At night I’ll keep my bedroom window open to the fresh summer breeze which helps lull me to sleep. And, as long as I am able, I’ll continue to eat watermelon and all sorts of summertime fare until it is darn near impossible to find. 

 

The house will be very quiet with both girls off to school, an emptiness I'll have to get used to. I just keep reminding myself that, when they are home, they really do make up enough ruckus to last several days. :) Hugs and saying I love you will definitely need to be doled out, and reciprocated, less sparingly come fall.