Summertime
Good grief, it's August.
I was so sure, back in April and May, that I had this interminable, insufferable, long summer ahead - no mother's day out, no regularly scheduled activities, no respite from the Texas heat, and no pool to go to.
But I was wrong.
Praise the Lord!
(I wasn't wrong about no mother's day out. I've missed you, Chunk of Time in Which I Can Shop for No Real Purpose or Stay at Home and Just Watch a Movie on My Own For Pete's Sake.)
Far from being unscheduled, those blank days of summer quickly filled with family reunions, grandparents' camps, and "just because" trips to visit loved ones. We managed not only to fit in four whole days of swim lessons, but we've had about as much swim time as we could hope for, thanks to the hospitality of friends, community swim at the YMCA, and the pools we've sought out on each and every out-of-town trip. And on top of all that, there have been only a handful of 100+ temp days this summer. You read that right, folks. The high is eighty-four today. I credit the Lord's mercy on this wimpy pregnant woman - and you should, too.
While at home, we have attempted a handful of crafts, a few pages here and there of the "school" workbooks I bought early on with visions of daily exercises in shape recognition and handwriting practice (ha!), and we have worked towards making room for Baby Brother in this surprisingly full house of ours.
And the kids have played. Inside, outside, they have played. They have played cars, "house," superheroes, tea time, run-around-like-crazy-people, and board games (all of them at once, usually). They have had almost daily "campouts" when we've been home - which means anything from an elaborate furniture-and-blankets set-up in the living room to a version involving all of my good pillows up in the backyard treehouse. (Which always makes me think, at least I'm not losing spoons yet. For some reason, when I was a kid, my mom was always fussing at us for losing her spoons. I don't know where they all went - the sandbox, I suppose - but I'm pretty sure she had to buy a whole new set by the time we were grown.)
We have made what seems like a thousand trips to the grocery store, and we have visited the library often enough to keep the library book basket full. We have not made nearly enough trips to the museum or visits with my grandmothers, but we've spent quite a lot of time traveling to and from the midwife's office. We've gone to the park, and we have even had one play date for all our friends ("I plan to have regular play dates this summer," I said. "We won't have anything else going on!" And then we left town for the better part of three months...). We have slept late and meandered through many of our days, and it's been pretty nice.
In my mind, I was prepared for August to be the non-summer month: we'd be getting ready for school and the baby, and there would be no time for leisure. But as I unpacked the suitcases we took to Gram Camp this past week, I realized that we are home for good now - at least until Baby Brother is ready to travel. Perhaps the days ahead will be the best part of summer yet... After all, there's still time to finish those workbooks before school starts! And maybe we can have our friends over - and make weekly visits to see my grandmothers - and the Museum might be less busy with everyone else getting back to school..... Or, maybe we'll just keep meandering, doing what we want to do, savoring a little more of this surprisingly wonderful summer before fall comes and our lives change once again.
I was so sure, back in April and May, that I had this interminable, insufferable, long summer ahead - no mother's day out, no regularly scheduled activities, no respite from the Texas heat, and no pool to go to.
But I was wrong.
Praise the Lord!
(I wasn't wrong about no mother's day out. I've missed you, Chunk of Time in Which I Can Shop for No Real Purpose or Stay at Home and Just Watch a Movie on My Own For Pete's Sake.)
Far from being unscheduled, those blank days of summer quickly filled with family reunions, grandparents' camps, and "just because" trips to visit loved ones. We managed not only to fit in four whole days of swim lessons, but we've had about as much swim time as we could hope for, thanks to the hospitality of friends, community swim at the YMCA, and the pools we've sought out on each and every out-of-town trip. And on top of all that, there have been only a handful of 100+ temp days this summer. You read that right, folks. The high is eighty-four today. I credit the Lord's mercy on this wimpy pregnant woman - and you should, too.
While at home, we have attempted a handful of crafts, a few pages here and there of the "school" workbooks I bought early on with visions of daily exercises in shape recognition and handwriting practice (ha!), and we have worked towards making room for Baby Brother in this surprisingly full house of ours.
And the kids have played. Inside, outside, they have played. They have played cars, "house," superheroes, tea time, run-around-like-crazy-people, and board games (all of them at once, usually). They have had almost daily "campouts" when we've been home - which means anything from an elaborate furniture-and-blankets set-up in the living room to a version involving all of my good pillows up in the backyard treehouse. (Which always makes me think, at least I'm not losing spoons yet. For some reason, when I was a kid, my mom was always fussing at us for losing her spoons. I don't know where they all went - the sandbox, I suppose - but I'm pretty sure she had to buy a whole new set by the time we were grown.)
We have made what seems like a thousand trips to the grocery store, and we have visited the library often enough to keep the library book basket full. We have not made nearly enough trips to the museum or visits with my grandmothers, but we've spent quite a lot of time traveling to and from the midwife's office. We've gone to the park, and we have even had one play date for all our friends ("I plan to have regular play dates this summer," I said. "We won't have anything else going on!" And then we left town for the better part of three months...). We have slept late and meandered through many of our days, and it's been pretty nice.
In my mind, I was prepared for August to be the non-summer month: we'd be getting ready for school and the baby, and there would be no time for leisure. But as I unpacked the suitcases we took to Gram Camp this past week, I realized that we are home for good now - at least until Baby Brother is ready to travel. Perhaps the days ahead will be the best part of summer yet... After all, there's still time to finish those workbooks before school starts! And maybe we can have our friends over - and make weekly visits to see my grandmothers - and the Museum might be less busy with everyone else getting back to school..... Or, maybe we'll just keep meandering, doing what we want to do, savoring a little more of this surprisingly wonderful summer before fall comes and our lives change once again.
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| Turnbough Family Reunion in Austin |
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| tea time, swimming lessons, helping Daddy with the flowerbeds, and helping Mommy with the birthday cakes |
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| Box Family Reunion at Mockingbird Hill Farm in Krum |
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| Cody Family Attempts at Family Photo |
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| sneaking into Mommy's bedroom in the night, CCS kindergarten water camp, reading time, indoor camping, swimming at a friend's pool, and much-needed naps (with the "father" doll tightly in hand) |
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| Texas Blueberry Festival in Nacogdoches |
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| DD Camp in Brady |
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| 4th of July Weekend in Balmorhea |
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| play time and Pingu time |
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| Gram Camp in Douglass |
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