Summer is coming!
Last year, summer was glorious but confusing and full of uncertainty. This summer just feels glorious! It took a while to get here, but we have spent the last few days outside, and I don’t know if we are more excited or if the kids are. Playgrounds, feet in the lake, more sunshine, and picnic dinners. Is anything better?
Everyone in this posse needs a break. Somehow, the weather makes it feel like we’re getting one. Watching Sylvie tackle monkey bars, the kids all clamber onto a giant swing that can hold them and call it a boat, and Dave and I grabbing coffee on the deck in the morning makes every other part of the day better. In four weeks, we hope to say goodbye to virtual school forever! Our plan is to celebrate with a summer of playing in water and sand, spending oodles of time with Sassy and Poppi, and hopefully wrapping it all up with vaccines for the kids in early fall.
We are reaching ages where we can see more significant strengths and weaknesses at school. The kids are talking more about feelings, and are playing really silly games with each other that make everyone fall off their chair with laughter. Fart jokes abound! Shoes are left in front of the door, dirty clothes are strewn across the bedrooms, and everyone has forgotten how to make their bed. We are trying really hard not to care right now, and just to focus on getting to the end of the school year.
Despite all odds, there have been some sunshiny moments this year. Today was one of them. It’s awesome to experience many things going right, to laugh with people you love at sunset and watch everyone get silly. We made an old recipe of mine, one that cooks for 12 hours or so. If you’re off by an hour, it doesn’t matter. That meant whipping a salad together for dinner and a relaxing night.
We need more of these, and this summer we will actively look for them. We plan to spend many hours barefoot in the yard, whether working with our feet propped up on a patio chair or splashing the kids! Our goal is actively enjoying our time together and building a fun summer after such a stressful adventure. We are sure to get it wrong, and I guarantee you there will be many temper tantrums from adults and children in the coming months. Still, as the long days stretch blissfully out ahead of us, anything seems possible. That’s the beauty of spring, right?