Summer So Far – 2014 – A Grace Full Life

Summer in our home usually starts around the time the kids get out of school. Not when the calendar officially says summer begins. Kind of like how fall doesn’t really start at the end of September, but the moment the girls step onto the bus. The fun of summer gets sucked up in bus fumes and school paperwork. It’s just not any good without my children.

I am one of those moms who looks forward to school break. Yes, there are times I tire of my girls, but I love the break from routine that school brings into our home. The schedules, the homework, the running around from the end of August until the beginning of June is exhausting. I enjoy having my girls with me. Like a mother bear, I like my tribe surrounding me.

Our summer has been going on for about two months now. It started out pretty good, then went sour fast.

Here is our summer so far, in pictures.

Summer started out really great. Look how happy I am.

Last day of kindergarten before summer break!

Then, slowly, summer took an ugly turn.

I got sick.

Really sick.

At my lowest.

And my kids were home to witness it all, which made it even more frustrating. I couldn’t be super mom. But something amazing happened. They rallied. They became compassionate. Patient. And just plain amazing. All qualities they had all along, but something like this brought them to the surface.

When your six year old with ADHD sits with you in bed and lets you take an hour nap while she reads, colors, and plays Barbies beside you, that feels like growth. Real growth.

One day, amid the illness and depression, we went on a day trip. We stumbled upon a park where a team of softball players were wearing throwback uniforms. It was perfectly perfect in every way. I said to my husband, do you think we are the only ones who can see them. Field of Dreams is one of our favorite movies.

Love notes on the garage floor for a daddy who works a lot of nights. My girls miss my husband. A lot. I miss my husband too. Probably even more this summer because I’ve been so out of it. When my youngest left a note on the garage floor and said, with tears in her eyes, I miss Daddy just so much, my heart sank. In a good way.

For years I worried the girls wouldn’t be close to him because of his long hours. That they wouldn’t be bonded. It couldn’t be farther from the truth. On his day off, my oldest, a teenager mind you, wants him to take them out to lunch alone so they can have time together. The three of them will sit and watch movies all day, stuffing their faces with popcorn or Cheetos. He is the fun one. I am completely fine with that.

A lot of this summer has also been shaped by a promise I made to myself, and to Ellie, when we found out she has ADHD back in February. As much as the school system wants to make sure she isn’t left behind, I believe most of that work needs to start at home. My mission is for her to enter each grade as prepared as I can make her.

There is a normal slide for most kids over the summer, but for my youngest, the start of a new school year feels more like climbing a mountain. New classroom, new teacher, new schedule. That is a tremendous amount of change for her. I don’t want forgetting letters, words, and basic math to be part of that equation.

So we’ve been working. At least four days a week, just to keep her steady. The beautiful part is that she doesn’t fight me at all. When I tell her it’s time to do school, she says OK mom and comes right to the table. This is the same child who hated homework all year long. I love this time. Truly. And yes, it’s a little selfish. I’m cherishing it, because in six weeks she’ll be somewhere else more than she’s here, and that makes me want to cry.

Oh, and we lost a little something too. Sorry for the National Geographic level photo. And the nose hair. And the spit line. And the freshly ripped, straight-from-the-gum drama. I’m all about being real. Maybe a little too real.

So summer is officially here and almost gone. Gulp. I’m slowly returning to my normal. And we’re okay.

Pass the s’mores.

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18 thoughts on “Summer So Far – 2014”

I'm so glad you are feeling better, and that you were able to make the best of it. I, too, love having the kids home for summer. And then when it is time for them to go back to school, I am ready for that too.

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18 thoughts on “Summer So Far – 2014”