I love summer.  Don’t ever get the impression that summer vacation is somehow an imposition in my life. It is magical.  For the entirety of their childhood I get to spend endless summer hours with my kids.  I really do enjoy it.  From Spring Break onward I long for the lazy days of summer with such passion it’s overwhelming.

I try to eek out every spare moment of summer.  We stay up too late, we watch too much T.V. We spend so many hours at the pool that the bathing suits are saggy and faded.  We play games and read books and do chores and run the neighborhood like its our job!  All of us.  I frequently say – “I am made for Summer Vacation.”

But all good things must come to an end and summer is no different. The days are getting shorter again, the humidity is tolerable, and the boredom has reached epic volume.  Perhaps we’ve achieved summer fatigue.  If it’s possible to tire of fun- we did it.

Every Summer is different.  Last summer we were overwhelmed with naptimes and summer camps. This summer was about family and vacation and summer sports!  It was a completely different summer and just as magical, for all of us, as each summer before.

It goes without saying that school is back. The routines, the homework, the sports, the early mornings and the difficult bedtimes- it’s all back.  I had to take a moment this weekend and mourn the loss of summer a little.  Next summer will be different.  My oldest will be a certified teen, my youngest will no longer be napping.

These next few weeks will be just a difficult for me as it is for them. Adjusting to my role as keeper of the calendar, encourager of the homework, and driver of the vehicle is difficult for this free-spirit momma.  We can do it, it’s the season for doing it after all.  But forgive me for being a little sad, a little lost, a little stressed and a lot grateful.  This season of life is brutal and breathtaking.  Forgive me while I mourn a moment.