Summer Swan Song

So, today is the day. The last day of summer. Precious summer, the season that teachers and children spend the rest of the year waiting for, and it is coming to a close for this year. Just so that I don't (ever!) come across as one of those perfect moms who has all of her stuff together all of the time, I wanted to give you a little reflection of my summer.

It was a short summer for our family this year, not for me, but for Adam. The past two weeks since he has been back have been tough, not because he's working and I'm not, but because they've been so imbalanced. My work is looming in the foreground while his is already going full-throttle. That has been tough. On top of that, my father-in-law graciously came in and helped us put in a new bathtub and shower: not an easy job at all. The shower is almost usable (yay!), and I am completely ready for this small portion of our summer to be over.

We didn't do nearly as much as we set out to do this summer. I think, from reading other people's Facebook posts, that I am not alone in feeling this sentiment. I think that summer in this regard is like Christmas, where it is so easy to have unrealistically high expectations and plans and then be disappointed when those things don't all happen. We want everything to be the perfect mix of busy and relaxing, and the balance between those two is hard to find.

There were many things we did do, though, and this is what I keep reminding myself. The kids did take swimming lessons, and they wore us all out (the lessons, not the kids!). We worked VBS. Charlotte got to go to Sports Camp. We visited our parents in Ohio. We went to the library. We didn't relax very much, but the different kind of busyness is a very nice change in the summer.

Another one of my teacher friends says that she enjoys getting back to the routine and schedule of the school year. That is something that I think most of us can appreciate. If it were summer forever, then we wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much. We need routine and so do our kids. So I think that, this year, I am content to bid adieu to summer and welcome the school year.

Check back next week to see our family's Back-To-School celebration on my first day of school. Soli Deo Gloria, y'all.