Uniforms are purchased and pressed in the closet. A beautiful line of blue shorts and polo shirts.
Teachers have been met.
Shaggy mops of summer hair have been clipped.
Backpacks brimming with fresh folders, notebooks and pencils.
Lunchboxes sit on the counter awaiting a slew of snacks, sandwiches and juice pouches.
Summer is over. PRAISE THE GOOD LORD ALMIGHTY.
As much as I love school ending in June, I love school starting in August. Our school year is regimented. Schedules and routines to mark our days. So when we get to summer, there is unrequited abandon to schedules and plans. We sleep, watch TV, play video games, eat non stop and swim at a whim. Our family has entered a sweet season of life. Where boys aren’t babies, but they aren’t men. We have moved beyond little years of changing diapers and scheduling a day around nap times.
I blinked, and without knowing it my boys are into their middle years. Where friends are fun, ice cream necessary, food ever constant, and play is life. This summer has been LONG, and yet so very short. I am so ready for routines and teachers and quiet time in my house again. But I am so very grateful for summer, because this year I learned so much.
As my boys transitioned out of constant mommy care and built worlds of their own in school, we had some transitioning to do when summer began. Because Mommy had built a world of her own as well, and summer brought with it a slew of boys always in my space. Tasks which had taken me 15 minutes to do while kids were in school, took me one hour during the summer. Summer forced me to move SLOW.
Everything was a process. Every task took time. A simple trip to Sam’s today for 3 items required every tiny human to have to use a public bathroom, each boy needed his own mini ICEE, every sample cart in the store needed examining, each child wanted mama to cut lunch up, just because I was there and I could.
I move slow during summer. Not out of desire, but out of necessity.
As I learn to live with eyes wide open, I see the beauty of the slowness. When my mind wants to shout, “Just move a little faster so we can be done and out of the heat.” my heart gently whispers, “They’re growing so fast, let them linger with you longer.”
I fail this often.
I prioritize tasks over treasuring talents.
I want productivity, and my children need my presence.
The sweetness of this summer taught me a lot of things, the greatest of which was stilling not just my actions, but my heart.
Because today, in being slow for my kids, we sat and ate lunch as a family. {Pizza and ICEEs are gourmet dates when you’re a boy mom!} I watched my big kid protect and hoover over the little kids. I glimpsed in my rear view mirror to find my tiny kid lean his head into his booster seat and sing “Just Breathe” to the radio music. And as I write this, all three boys are “taking a nap” (aka watching a movie) in one room with their pillows piled high and blankets tucked close. It only took 10 weeks of summer for them to play nice, but if they get it for today, I’ll take it.
So to the mama reading this stuck with nap time and diapers galore, hang tight, there is light ahead.
To the mama rushing around in the middle years, take a moment and pause. Savor their independence and the beauty of their growth.
And the mama whose babies have grown and flown the nest, seek out a new adventure for yourself. You’ve launched your brood, but your work is hardly done!
Thank God for summer time and for a heart willing to learn. But Praise the Lord for the school year and teachers willing to teach!
How has your summer been? Have you learned anything new as well? I’d love to hear about it! Shoot me a comment below 🙂
