Summer Break

                    

I can't believe school has already started up again. Part of me is thrilled to be back on a schedule, but the other part is waking up at 6:30 and groaning because I have to pull it all together, with the lunches and the homework and the shuttling to and fro and the inevitable bedtime production.  I am left in a sort of fugue state, ambling about, not sure what to do with myself or how to fit things into previously planned or unplanned pockets of time. Good Girl is adjusting well, this being her third year at her elementary school. But Goblin Queen is having some trouble adjusting to the new structure. She's great at school, but after school she wants to take her lunch outside and play all day, like she did this past summer. The resulting reign-ins have been met with some degree of crabitude.

I'm making an effort not to let it all get to me, because the end of break was much like the beginning of break. Everyone has to adapt and evolve. It's a little bumpy at first, but quite worth it.

This summer, I thought nothing was happening and things were chaotic, but upon reflection, we accomplished  quite a bit. The girls learned all about evolution, planted vegetables, and built a robot (that unfortunately didn't work.) Wolfman went from stumbling and swaying to zipping around on his two skinny legs. He says "yeah" and nods his head when he wants something. He likes books and is fascinated with the mechanics of everyday objects. Good girl became a proficient swimmer, jumping off the diving board, and Goblin Queen went from being afraid of going underwater, to cannonballing into the 3 ft and having a blast. Good girl read a 284 page book & is 3/4 of the way through the next one. Goblin Queen worked on writing letters and numbers and has started learning how to ride without training wheels (I think we'll try to make that stick within the next few weeks.) We did the pool, the petting zoo, Medieval Times, baseball game, fireworks, children's museum, Ren Faire, saw Brave, enjoyed fireworks, BBQ's and all that.

Sometimes I let the chaos make me feel like I am not accomplishing anything or guilty of being a shit mom. But the big picture tells a different story. My kids are growing up. Learning to change with the seasons. I'm proud of them and stoked to see where we'll be next summer.

... But we have to make it through fall, winter, and spring, first.