In Which The Realization Occurs That It's Okay That School Starts In 2.5 Weeks

Yeah...my emotions have been running awry this week. Not sure why. Except this: I don't do change well. I mean, I try to do change well, but my personality sees change coming down the pike and like the kids in the movie Stand By Me, who amble along the tracks in utter denial of danger, finally realizes there is no turning back and screams, NOOOOooooooooooooo! Or something like that. Control freak, anyone?

See, I finally got used to summer.

I got used to having the kids around 24/7 and e.n.j.0.y.i.n.g. them 24/7. The onlychildwho needsherspace!!! fell back and enjoyed the togetherness and the lazy days of summer.

My kids had one 4 day stint @ Bible camp. And Drama Girl had one other camp. That's it. No soccer practices. No 1/2 day camps resulting in red-faced sweaty kids. Not that those are bad, but this is the summer we essentially checked out. We were in town. We were in the beach. Usually, we were reading. Or walking. Or doing nothing.

Nothing. Cloud watching. My grandma always says kids are too busy to make cloud pictures. Well, we didn't make them every day. But...our days were slow.

This past week, I've started the dreaded expensive hormonal process of shopping for clothes for my 10-ager. She is now mostly in juniors' sizing thanks to size 9.5 feet and a height of just a scootch under 5 feet. Daddy is 6' 4". Need I say more? Well, needless to say, at 10, in a body that doesn't quite feel girly or womanly, she's not having the most ideal time shopping. And, lemme tell you...these "junior"stores are not for the faint at heart. How old do I sound!!! Seriously! Oh, my. But anyway...that's another chink in the armor of no-changes-thank-you.

And David...well, he'd rather I just buy all his stuff and not mention the word "school" in front of him. We went to a lovely potluck last night to welcome new kids to the school. "I really don't want to go, Mom. I'm fine. Really." And you know what? I kinda knew what he was saying. It's August 15th, and since my kids got out at the mid/end of June, he's not ready to face this first year back in a new school and out of homeschooling. Yet. Be assured though, that with promises of food and...well promises of food, we got him to the potluck, showered and everything.

"Honey, please take a shower before we leave."

"Why??? I took one yesterday!"

"Well, you stink."

"I do?"

"Um, yeah. It's called sweat. You've run around, you've slept, you've done boy things. You need a shower. "

"I TOOK ONE YESTERDAY!!"

"You need to watch your tone. Please get into the shower. "

And so it went. He did shower. He re-wore the day's clothes, but he showered. Pick thouest battles, no?

So, I guess we all have our bumps in assimilating to upcoming change.

Yet...

• the kids are kvetching at each other (more than usual)
• the Olympics are tiring me out--heaven's sake, I haven't stayed up this late since doing college term papers
• the leaves are just.starting.to.change
• Big is about to leave for a week (more togetherness than even I like with the kids!)
• I'm giving up sugar shoot me now
• our lack of routine is sometimes harder than the full routine of fall/winter/spring
• We're trying out for the Christmas play at church

So...I guess it's okay that fall is arriving. Isn't that nice of me to allow God to move the seasons like that? :O) It's okay.

Gotta go...time to walk the dogs before it hits 90 and then go school supply shopping. If I don't post any more it's because we no longer have internet service because we'll surely be out of money soon.

Soli Deo Gloria!