What I Want to Remember About This Summer

I'm officially back at it in the classroom, with a new crop of [amazing] third graders... and my trio is finding their new rhythm in preschool, pre-K, and second grade --

But before I completely let go of this past summer, I wanted to reflect on a few of the things I hope to always, always remember.  Because it was so, so good.

Sure, we crossed items off of our bucket list and had some big adventures and went to the beach and engaged in all kinds of typical summer shenanigans; however, during the only summer I will ever have a 2-, 4-, and 7-year-old, here are some *little* things I want to tuck away into my heart forever...

*Brooks saying, "IT'S A BOOTIFUL DAY!" over and over and over again.

*My trio falling in love with country music.  Yippeee!!!  It only took seven years for me to convince them it's the best, and now they finally request it in the car.

*Laney.  Goodness, we love her so.  She brings the kids and me so much joy, no matter how much work it is to have another living thing in the house!

*CK climbing into my bed and into my lap (she barely fits!) and asking me to french braid her hair.

*Watching my boys develop their own friendship/love-hate relationship.  They had several opportunities to bond, just the two of them, while sis was at camp or with friends - and it was so cool (and definitely exhausting in the referee sort of way!) to watch them find their groove, together.

*Finding time to get lost in a book, each and everyday.  One of my favorite times of the day was tucking my kids into bed and then retreating to my back deck (with Laney!) to dive into my book.

*And even moreso, I will always remember the most precious time I shared with my girl in the evenings as we both got lost in our books together.  She truly fell in love with reading this summer, and there were several nights we'd crawl into my bed, me with hot tea and her asking for "milk in a cup with a handle, too" - and it was just so, so special.  This little girl is growing so quickly into quite the little lady and we are also growing through life together, and I soaked up so much of my CK this summer.

*So much ice cream, so many slushies, so many popsicles.  Or "popischools," as Brooks says.

*Slow, easy, unscheduled, no-alarm mornings.  One of the hardest parts of being a working-full-time-single-mama is getting my trio up and ready and out of the door by 6:45am, so goodness I sure enjoyed not having to run around like a drill sergeant before the sunrise this summer!

*Sneaking in some much-needed Bammy time.  Gosh how we love when our Bammy comes to GA.

*As much as it tested my patience, I also want to remember how messy my house was.  Stuff.was.EVERYWHERE.  Half-eaten poptarts on the bathroom counter, dirty socks in every nook and cranny of every room, sippy cups under the couch, slime and playdough remnants on the tables...  Because as hard as it was for my type-A self, it meant our home was being lived in by us. <3

*Impromptu plans and late nights, staying up wayyyyy past bedtime... especially the night we saw an awesome laser show at Stone Mountain with some of our favorites.

*Days where we had NO plans, and ended up in the driveway, (country) music blaring on the speakers, riding bikes and scooters, eating an entire watermelon.

*And my absolute favorite memory of the entire summer?  One afternoon CK begged me to come have a dance party in Everette's room.  I agreed, but she insisted I needed to be blindfolded.  She led me into his room, took off my blindfold, and all three kiddos yelled "SURPRISE!!"  They'd planned a WE LOVE YOU MOM party, with gifts (i.e. toys from their rooms they'd wrapped in notebook paper), cards, decorations, etc.  It was one of my most favorite mama moments in seven years.  And in case you're wondering... yes, after I opened my gifts, we blared some music and danced, danced, danced. <3

So many people have asked me if I'm ready to be back at school, back at work, back to the grind.  I'm lucky enough to absolutely love my job - so the answer is yes, yes I'm ready.  I'm also ready because I truly feel like we got all the good we could out of summer.  And while it's always hard to go from being around my trio constantly, to feeling like I'm living the busiest, most chaotic life ever with a lot less time with them - I know how fortunate I am to have the summer "off."  And I also believe that part of the joy of life is having a balance of time to work and time to play.  Life is not an endless summer... that is not reality.  Happiness is not an endless summer... that is not realistic.  Joy and happiness for me come from being fulfilled as a mama and as a teacher and as me.  Sometimes my life allows me to lean more in the direction of mama, sometimes I have to lean more into being a teacher.  I'm not sure there's such thing as work-life balance... more like finding a way to lean in one direction, and then the other, as needed.

So with that, I officially let go of what was one of the best summers ever, and I look forward to a new season, a new school year, a new chapter for us that is sure to bring us chaos and growth, excitement and exhaustion, challenges and, because I choose it -- so.much.joy. <3

"I mastered the art of happiness only after I had plummeted into the darkest depths of despair... after I had reached rock bottom and felt as if even hope itself had abandoned me.  It was then that I learned that happiness is not an endless summer I once thought it to be, but rather the ability to weather and embrace all of life's seasons with patience and grace.  It was then, and only then, that I discovered how to truly be happy whilst still knowing pain and uncertainty had their place in my life." [BeccaLee]