Back to School Blues

Ten days and counting until the bus pulls up and whisks the girls away to another year of school. I should be doing cartwheels across the lawn because their bickering and whining will cease, the constant need to entertain will end, and silence can wrap me up like a warm blanket. 

BUT . . . I don’t want them to go.

Sure they bitch at each other and I’m a constant referee, but they also laugh and hang out as loving sisters when they least expect it. When school friends are nowhere to be found, sisterhood takes over. Summer sun invites splashing in the lake, paddle-boarding with the dog, hikes, and family time. Evenings are snuggle central.

With school comes routine, schedules, and the sense of time moving at warp speed. Their independence grows through sports and activities. While that makes me proud, they change so rapidly before my eyes. I worry – and worry some more – that they are getting picked on or not learning enough, I hope they are not being mean to others, and I want them to make good choices. I would pummel every mean girl or bully, but I can’t always be there and that’s how they grow and learn. Each school year brings the girls’ closer to successful, personable, and hopefully happy adults – and ultimately the test if we were decent parents. (No pressure at ALL)

With the last few days of summer, I have the sense of panic that I need to schedule a last minute trip to Adventureland or a waterpark or to the Australian Outback for a once-in-a-lifetime-adventure. But the kids didn’t even want go anywhere this weekend – they just wanted to hang out at home with Mom and Dad. I’ll take that.