Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Summer Vacation draws to a close....

Today is the last day of summer vacation for the kids. Tomorrow they go back, armed with new backpacks filled with shiny new school supplies, ready to start a new year of learning and making friends and memories.

I have spent this week getting us back into our school day routines. Up at 6 am and Alex in bed by 9 or 10, and myself to bed by 11. It has not been that difficult. Jack said I should sleep in this morning, as it is the last day I can do so, and that sounded like a good idea. It did not work out that way. He woke me at 6 and I snuggled deeper into the covers, Alex climbing in bed with me and out like a light. I dozed for about 45 minutes and then my eyelids sprang open like those old window shades that roll up and down.

My body and mind remember.

They remember the routine, and I have to say, as much of a night owl as I am, I have been happier getting up at six and greeting the sun as it rises in the sky. The only down side is the days are SO long. Getting up at noon meant Jack would be home in 4 hours. Getting up at six in the morning means it is 10 hours until I see him, and time drags on. I get much more accomplished however, which is a good thing.

Tomorrow is a half day, with a full day on Friday. I plan to take the next two days to just decompress and enjoy the blissful silence that comes with an empty house. Monday I will hit the ground running, crank up my stereo for the first time in 3 months and rock out while I do some power cleaning.

This summer has not been as bad as I expected, to be honest. Alex was gone a lot, playing outside and with the kids of the neighborhood. She made a new friend, and spent the night away over a dozen times, with nary a tear in her eye. Much different that last year, when the thought of being away from us after dark was terrifying to her. She has grown so much.

The last two weeks or so, however, have been a nightmare. She was then aware that school would be starting soon, and the kids of the neighborhood were getting ready to go back to school and taking last minute mini-vacations and were gone a lot, so Alex was here all the time. So she was bored and she talks..like all the time. She got in trouble the other day for not being quiet and I sent her to her room and she was sitting on the edge of her bed, with her own hand over her mouth, and was STILL TALKING. I think silence makes her twitchy, upon further reflection..her mind moves so fast, silence is torture to her. The problem is, noise makes ME twitchy. My mind moves so fast that the silence and stillness is a welcome respite from the constant brain chatter that goes on all day.

So we have butted heads a lot over the last two weeks. She makes me more than a little crazy at times, and I am glad she will be going back to school so we get a break from each other and I will look forward to her talking to me and telling me what she has learned that day.

Another thing that is making me happy is the weather. It has been deliciously cool here the last two mornings. It has been around 64 to 66 and it has been so nice. I have had the house open the last two mornings until noon, when the humidity creeps back up and the air has to come back on. These few hours have been amazing, it reminds me that this horrible heat will not last forever and Fall is fast upon us.

So now the days will pass by once more in routine, and this gives me a strange inner peace. Good things are happening left and right, and I look forward to seeing what each new day brings.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Girl, I have been with my son 24/7 all Summer and I am putting my happy back to school dance outfit together and will be singing in the streets.

Magaly Guerrero said...

That is early... we still have a couple of weeks to go. The Princess is going to a summer school program in the meantime. She loves it because she gets to explore, plant stuff, play archaeologist and stuff like that. I'm not ready for summer vacation to end *sigh* I want a bit more time to write without worrying about school's technical writing...

Guess is a bit different for you. When the kids go back you get a bit more time for you.

Tamara said...

You sound like you are doing a little better sweetie...got some much needed rest. Sorry tho you are butted heads with your daughter, they become so difficult at that age. Once the kiddo's are back in school you will have some good peace. :)

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