It's August 29. Do you know where your summer is?
I sit here, looking at the little digital calendar on my computer trying to comprehend the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the summer of 2008 is over.
Oh sure, there’s still this weekend – a nice long one at that – but if summer were a politician, she’d be the lamest of lame ducks: powerless and wasting away. A figurehead at best.
We had a good summer and certainly had some fun moments. But I can’t help feeling like too much time was spent running, running, running.
Into the car. Off to the gym. Go to the grocery store. Do some work. Surf the web. Clean the house. Pull some weeds. Cook and eat dinner. Take a bath. Go to bed.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Looking back, it seems like summer slipped through my fingers like sand through a sifter and now it’s gone, never to be reclaimed. Too many days went by without really enjoying them and that’s a damn shame because my girls are growing up too fast. Already, they push me away – at times preferring to play on their own vs. with me. So this past week, I made a real effort to slow down and soak up what’s left of summer ’08 with them.
My house is a disaster, because instead of cleaning up every day we read. We sat on the kitchen step, arms wrapped around each other, and watched birds eat from the feeder. We went to the library, and instead of flipping through People or Self, I read story after story to them. We sat on the floor and colored. I cut my computer time way back and made an effort to do more of my work after hours so I could be with them in what’s left of this fleeting season of leisure.
It was nothing grand or extraordinary - just simple pleasures, easy joys. I plan to repeat it again this week because when it’s over, Peanut will be out of the house five days from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Loaf will be gone three mornings until 11:30 and my house will be quiet once again.
Soon after, the days will chill, the leaves will fall and before we know it, we’ll be bundling up in boots and coats and longing for days past when we chased fireflies and picked flowers and ran in the yard purely for fun.
I’m hoping to add a few more memories to that stockpile so that we all have something to draw upon in the coming weeks. Or years. Whatever the case may be.
Oh sure, there’s still this weekend – a nice long one at that – but if summer were a politician, she’d be the lamest of lame ducks: powerless and wasting away. A figurehead at best.
We had a good summer and certainly had some fun moments. But I can’t help feeling like too much time was spent running, running, running.
Into the car. Off to the gym. Go to the grocery store. Do some work. Surf the web. Clean the house. Pull some weeds. Cook and eat dinner. Take a bath. Go to bed.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Looking back, it seems like summer slipped through my fingers like sand through a sifter and now it’s gone, never to be reclaimed. Too many days went by without really enjoying them and that’s a damn shame because my girls are growing up too fast. Already, they push me away – at times preferring to play on their own vs. with me. So this past week, I made a real effort to slow down and soak up what’s left of summer ’08 with them.
My house is a disaster, because instead of cleaning up every day we read. We sat on the kitchen step, arms wrapped around each other, and watched birds eat from the feeder. We went to the library, and instead of flipping through People or Self, I read story after story to them. We sat on the floor and colored. I cut my computer time way back and made an effort to do more of my work after hours so I could be with them in what’s left of this fleeting season of leisure.
It was nothing grand or extraordinary - just simple pleasures, easy joys. I plan to repeat it again this week because when it’s over, Peanut will be out of the house five days from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Loaf will be gone three mornings until 11:30 and my house will be quiet once again.
Soon after, the days will chill, the leaves will fall and before we know it, we’ll be bundling up in boots and coats and longing for days past when we chased fireflies and picked flowers and ran in the yard purely for fun.
I’m hoping to add a few more memories to that stockpile so that we all have something to draw upon in the coming weeks. Or years. Whatever the case may be.
Labels: my time
posted by Kimberly at
10:11 PM
4 Comments:
Lovely, as usual. Seriously, you are one of my favs, lady.
I am very often guilty of being with them but not really WITH THEM. I am really trying to change that!
No! No! Not fall!
Noooo!
If you don't talk about it, it won't come! Shhhhhh!
Not Hannah - Aw, thanks! You're too kind.
Mayberry - It's so easy to get pulled into other things. I do it all the time, especially now that they're old enough to entertain themselves for more than 5 minutes. I'm trying to be better too. It's a constant struggle.
Hatchet woman - I know. I love fall, but we all know what comes after fall. I don't even want to type it. :-/
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