On the first night of summer break, Arthur yelled for me from the shower. "Mom! Can you get a pencil and paper? I'm making up a song and I don't want to forget it!"
I grabbed the supplies, sat on the bathroom stool, and scribbled down every word, my eyes welling over-
I love summer break
And I love school
But summer break is better
Because you get to stay with your mom
And it's more fun because you get to do art projects with your mom
Like painting a clay thing you made
And you make your clay
I like taking walks with my mom
School is good because you learn
but I'd rather stay home with my mom
Later, as I fell asleep, I couldn't stop thinking about that song. This was the cream of motherhood, no doubt.
I'd like to say that this set the tone for our summer, but that is not entirely accurate. Everyone did get a lot of time with their mom and hopefully some of it was fun. We also had hard days, strings of hard days. Hurt feelings, bruised egos, forty "I hate you"s before 10 am. Complaints about the lack of fun, the lack of chips, the lack of TV. Second chances, third chances, tenth chances to make the right choice. (Disclaimer: often the one struggling to make the right choice was me.)
Our air conditioner broke and we sweated through it and relied on the kindness of neighbors and paid for a whole new system like adults do.
Our beloved neighbors- and the kids best friends- moved hours away mid-summer and we spent the later half finding our way without them. We are still finding our way.
Helen spent several weeks at a day camp where she was chased by pirates, found 37 cicadas and an injured bird on the playground, and was crowned queen of the slip 'n slide. Arthur and I spent those same weeks leisurely grocery shopping, playing cards, and eating lunch in almost complete silence (a preference we share).
There were days when I needed a break in the worst way. Times when I just couldn't bear to serve another lunch, so we ate cheese and crackers on paper plates outside. Steve took the kids to the pool every Sunday afternoon so that I could regain my sanity. But there were also plenty of fun adventures, trips to the library, and days that I felt like this could be all I wanted in life- to have my little tribe of children around me, jostling to get on my lap.
We visited family, we visited friends, and the kids passed the swim test at every pool we went to, perhaps the biggest reminder that they are growing up, that each summer will be different.
And then it was over, almost surprisingly fast. In a flurry of backpacks and new uniforms and thirty glue sticks they were out the door to conquer a new year.
It's quiet here now and I get a lot accomplished. And in between laundry and sewing and spreadsheets, I dream a little bit about next summer.
