I was in Wal-Mart today, visiting my new release 
and picking up the gazillion dollars of school supplies necessary for my children to successfully learn to read and write this year. When I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I was looking forward to the start of the school year.
“Counting down the minutes,” I said, thinking of how frustrating this summer had been, how the two kids had been teasing and tormenting each other to no end, then bringing their battles to my desk every five minutes. Considering I have a book due in five weeks, that’s got me just a tad on edge.
But then, a few hours later, I was snuggled on the sofa with the youngest (the older one was on the opposite couch because she is now too cool to snuggle), watching “Madeline” and joking with him about everything and nothing. The laughter poured from him in a steady stream as he teased me good naturedly, playfully hiding the remote control, pretending to forget that it was bedtime…ordinary kid stuff. The eldest even joined in, surprising me from behind the sofa with an impromptu hug and a few jokes of her own. Because it wasn’t a school night, I let them stay up, watch another movie, read a few extra pages in their books, tell me one more story.
As I did, I realized I will, despite all my complaints, be sad to see summer come to an end. I do enjoy having the kids home all day, even if the ordinary flow of my workday is interrupted. It usually takes me until the first week of August to find a way to make having two extra people in the house work—and then just when I get used to that, they’re gone again, leaving me in the peace and quiet.
So much peace and quiet, in fact, that I have to keep the TV on all day for company. Because I miss the little rugrats.
My husband would say I’m never happy (hey, I’m a woman, what can I say?). I like it when they’re at school, but complain about the early, rushed mornings, the twice-a-day trips to shuttle them to and fro, the extracurricular schedules that conflict with everything from the orthodontist to the vet. I like it when they’re home for the summer and they sleep late, leaving me to a quiet early morning on the patio, just me and my coffee and my Alphasmart. Then they wake up and it’s sheer chaos—both in noise and in the mess around the house—until everyone falls into bed late at night.
I’ll have my freedom back in three short weeks, but this time, I think it will be a bittersweet return. My eldest is a middle schooler, my youngest is making his way upward through elementary school and it’s quickly becoming clear to me that I have very few years left when I’ll have them home at all. I can’t even think about that without tearing up and wanting to somehow stop time, rewind the clock, return to the days when they were still learning to walk and their entire world revolved around Mom and Dad.
Since I can’t do that, I think I’ll have to settle instead for snuggles on the couch—as long as it’s still kinda cool to do that with Mom—and as many extra movies and stories as we can fit in. And on those rare days off from school, I’m going to declare a “summer break” night and let them pretend, for just that one day, that it’s summer vacation and see if we can recapture just a little of the same mood once again.
Uh-huh.
My first thought was to just end this blog entry there, with that nice, heartfelt sentiment. But hey, I live in the real world, with kids who scream “you’re a bozo” at each other on a regular basis.
So when I declare summer break day, I’m going to consider it a victory if we make it to the end of the day with all limbs intact and no one the worse for wear after sibling scuffles. I’ll pray they also remember to toss a hug my way before they dash off to see their friends.
And every day of the year, I’m going to remember to count my blessings with a kiss on their cheeks and a whispered “I love you.” Because for moms, snuggling is always cool.
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Great post, Shirley. I admit to happy dancing when my kids returned to school last week. I love the silence in the house all day. The absence of fights. The idea that I can actually go shopping without somebody whining, “But I WANT it!”
However, on the other side of the coin, I do love the snuggles (my son still will, my daughter never would), the occasional hiking daytrips, and the conversations.
I can’t have it both ways. I’m glad they’re at school, but I still miss them.
Same here. One went back this week, but I still have the little one for another month. It’s so quiet here now! They’re not screaming at each other all day long — only in the afternoons. And I’ve gotten so much done already. But I’m already missing having both of them close. And the little one really misses his sister.
*sniffle* My baby is heading off to kindergarten tomorrow. She’s the last of my three children, and I’m not going to know what to do with myself with all three in school.
Mine go in 14 days. I’ll have two in middle school- one teen and one tween. ~sigh~ My son will permit a “shoulder hug” (arm around the shoulders and squeeze) in public, but no embraces and absolutely NOTHING involving the lips. Which cracks me up because at home in private, he’s a leech.
I can’t wait. They will both be on the bus- hooray! No more playing SUV dodgeball in a tiny elementary school parking lot!