Big Kids

Summer, my most favorite time of the year, is speeding by so quickly I can scarcely accept it. The older my kids get, the busier we are. Gone are the endless weeks of doing what we please all summer long. Now we spend our days juggling. I'm not complaining...summer is still glorious. Just a slightly different shade of glorious.

Life has changed so much since my first years of being a mom, when I just had two little ones who didn't ask for play dates, happily went wherever I chose to take them, and had no responsibilities to schools or sports teams. Now we are dealing with sometimes having to make hard choices because we can't be more than one place at once. And sometimes having to do stuff with the fam even if you'd kinda rather be hanging out with your friends. Plus doing our best to keep little brains fresh and prepping for the coming school year, which is occasionally met with resistance.

I always have such ambitious plans and hopes for summer break. I always think I'm going to be able to fit in more than is humanly possible, and envision everyone being pleased with all of it. Reality check, please.

The truth is, we're about half way in already and it's been a good summer. We've been on two trips, spent lots of time with family and friends, enjoyed the sunshine and warm(ish - this is Michigan after all) weather, tried some new things, and learned to sleep in. That's not bad at all.

The flip side of the truth is we've often got disgruntled customers in the George household. We have to get up early a lot when we really (really really really) don't want to. We haven't exactly done many of the things I had envisioned us doing this summer, like visiting museums and state parks and working on household projects, and  I'm consulting my calendar multiple times a day, trying to keep everything straight.

Juggling is definitely the buzzword this summer, and I have a feeling that's not going to change for a long time.

By the end of the school year, I'm always looking forward to having time to do things during the summer break that have been put off all year. Then by the end of summer it's the same thing...I'm telling myself the projects will be finished once the kids are back in school. But this coming school year is going to be totally different for me. All four of my kids will be in school full time. For the first time in 13 years I will be (sort of) off duty for a large portion of the day. I mean, I'll still be cleaning up after them and running their errands, but they won't be around to interrupt me and throw me off course all day long. I might feel like I jumped into Alice's rabbit hole, but instead of chaos there will be peace and quiet.

Kids grow and life changes.

I am grappling with what to do with myself when the kids are back in school. Get a job outside the home? I hesitate because with four children there is a high likelihood that someone is going to be sick and/or need a field trip chaperon practically on a weekly basis. And I like to be there for them. That is my priority. Right now my plan is to kick the blogging into high gear (I will have a QUIET HOUSE for hours every day - can you even imagine??) while being open to flexible part time job opportunities.

Life changes, and that is a good thing. But it can also be a scary thing.

While I'm dealing with a different kind of summer, I'm also trying to prepare for my role in life to change drastically for the first time in 13 years. No little ones at home will mean no schlepping back and forth to preschool, no chatterbox following me around and making it practically impossible for me to talk on the phone or complete a coherent thought. It will also mean no more cuddle time in the middle of the day, no more trips to the library for afternoon story time, no more taking along a +1 to coffee with the ladies. At this point I'm not sure whether I'll be laughing or crying. I'm guessing a little bit of both.