The Old Gray Mare...

She ain't what she used to be...

Okay, just for the record, I am NOT referring to myself. Or any person. But rather summer.

Every year as the school year wraps up, my thoughts drift to the days of summers. I immediately think of lazy mornings sleeping in, days spent hanging around the house, playing in the sprinkler, eating ice cream. I imagine nights of sitting outside with Mark, hand in hand, as we watch the children chase lightning bugs around the house. I dream of our beach vacation, picking up seashells and running in the waves. I envision weekend hikes to new places, happening on a fishing hole with NO snakes. And to make it all even better, I dream big...I dream of organizing our house, just a little each day, until it is where I want it to be. Sigh.

Thus far, that hasn't happened. Not one little bit. Note: I am not complaining necessarily. I am thankful for a job that I love that also allows me to be home in the summer...the very short summer.

This year my summer is about two months long. Two months and one day to be exact. So I was already feeling the frantic emotions of "where did the time go?" on the first day!

So far, I think there has been maybe one or two days that I haven't had to get up by a certain time or not set the alarm...even on the weekend! Even the days I haven't set it, I usually wake up when Mark leaves for work, which means I am still not sleeping in. Of course, the kids don't sleep in anyway most of the time. I have trained the oldest ones to wait until they hear me stir, but the youngest one hasn't learned that trick yet.

Our days have been filled with activities, appointments, and camps. Not necessarily bad things but obligations to our day nonetheless. Looking at our calendar for the summer, I see that will continue. And I support our kids in pursuing activities, like our oldest attending a sports camp. That is good for him. It just takes up a lot of time usually in a car with the other kiddos riding along.

We are still headed to the beach, but not with as much gusto as before. We likely will NOT be getting in the water. I cannot seem to get a clear picture of how safe it is. And that is okay...we will make the most of it. The important thing is that we will be together, enjoying family time. It just won't quite be what I had hoped. (Though I am not an ocean swimmer typically, I do usually love to walk barefoot right on the edge of the water, letting the water roll in on my feet...not getting that this year :()

The organization efforts have been minimal. It isn't that I am doing nothing all day (though I admit taking naps each afternoon to compensate for the lack of sleep at night due to leg cramps)...I am just buried in laundry, unpacking (then repacking), the girls' party, church stuff, etc. I think the frustrating part is that I know if I don't get it done now, I won't even have a chance to do it until next summer. And I don't know if I can live with that. The funny thing is that at some point this summer, the three oldest children are going places for a few days...just never at the same time. It really doesn't matter because the youngest is stuck here with me, and he is delightful and fun but not a lot of help around the house. :)

So far, little time has been spent outside. It has been too stinkin' hot. Typically June is a rainy month for us, with cooler temperatures. Then July becomes this sauna. Well, this year June is the sauna. What does that mean for July??? Even my children won't go out and play right now due to the heat. It is times like this I may covet, just a bit, the swimming pools so many have in their yards. I am pretty sure we would use one...when we aren't out and running around.

Then there is our getaway. Mark and I have had a "getaway" for the last couple years around my birthday in August. It has always been a treat to have that time to "get away" from it all before starting another school year. This year, we had our getaway at the beginning of the summer...to Vegas. Since Mark had to be there for work, and I had never been, it seemed like a perfect plan. Only it wasn't so cheap. We budget in for our beach vacation, but we did not budget in for this. And while I was able to cross a couple things (The Vegas strip of hotels, Grand Canyon) off my "bucket list" that I haven't taken the time to actually write, I honestly wasn't that crazy about the city itself. Or at least the parts I saw (other than the trip to the Grand Canyon). I always love to get away with my main squeeze. I am just pretty sure in August, I will be sad when I don't get to do it. That and when we have to pay the bills this next month for that trip! (We were fortunate with our San Francisco trip...it was paid for through some promotion Mark won, and our trip last year to Mt. Magazine was a fraction of the cost of the other trips)

Not to say it has all been bad. I love that my sister and her kids usually come at least once in the summer for a week or two, though I never get to see her as much as I want. And I do get to take care of some household stuff during the day which could leave me more time at night if I didn't have so much going on right now. Of course, I also get to enjoy more time with the kids, which I may joke about but truly do enjoy doing.

I just think summer has lost a little of its magic...

The Old Gray Mare just ain't what she used to be!

More later,
Reba