Summer is Almost Here!!!

Sawyer and Adelade had their school track meet today.  So, Emerald and and Chad and I went to school to watch them run.  Tonight at dinner we were talking about the meet when Sawyer stopped and said, “Mama, when you saw me out there on the field did it remind you how much you miss me?”

Precious words from my only boy.  Middle child, sandwiched between two sisters, with his cool hair and his dimpled smile.

And, the truth is that now, at the end of his kindergarten year, I don’t think that often about the ache that I felt when he left me for his great school adventure.  Emerald and I have a routine.  The days pass quickly.  But, when he reminded me today about how much time we spend apart, I started feeling even more excited about this summer.  I do miss my two big kids.  I miss no schedules, no lessons, no eight o’clock bedtimes, their giggling, their elaborate games.

Yet, this time of year I start seeing all kinds of things online about mothers who dread summertime.  They don’t want school to end and they count the minutes until it starts up again.  I hate to think about how prone we are, mamas, to wish away the fleeting days we have with our children.  This time in life will never come our way again.

I recently read the story of a mother on an airplane.  She was addressing envelopes, and she told her seatmate that she had one daughter graduating from college and another one getting married.  Before her fellow passenger could congratulate her, the mother said, “It’s wonderful to get rid of both of them at the same time!”*

I pray that you and I will never be THAT mother. Let’s make the most of every day with our kids, knowing that some will be better than others.  Knowing that not every moment is perfect or clean or even enjoyable.  But, every moment matters.  Let’s make them count.

And, just in case you’re looking for inspiration, there’s this:

 

*from Feminine Appeal:  Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mehaney