Sometimes “Life” just gets in the way of living. The past few weeks have been pure overload on inconveniences. Our Nanny, the young college student who picks my younger kids up from their school and brings them to my office every day, accepted a graduate school scholarship…in another state. We’ve had two deaths in our extended family in the past two weeks. Both were expected, but emotionally crushing in spite of their inevitability. Throw teacher conferences on top of that, a brilliant child who is just “too bored” at school, a great kid who is struggling with physics class and needs extra help, volleyball tournaments, a dear husband with a work deadline that has governmental agencies calling/emailing him every hour day and night, dead trees falling on fence lines, camping trip, fall fund raising (GAG ME!), soccer season and a teenager learning to drive, wandering hermit crabs, homecoming dance, confirmation classes…well, you get the picture.

We are all still breathing, I’ve managed to have a reasonably healthy dinner on the table every evening, and everyone has clean underpants. I’m clearing the calendar for this Saturday morning, and the first child/dog/husband that wakes me up is going to be scrubbing toilets for the rest of the day with their own toothbrush.

That will be a neat trick for the dog.

“back to school”

“BACK TO SCHOOL!! WA-HOOO!!”

That’s the difference between my children’s reaction and my reaction to back to school week. No, I am not glad to have my children out of the house – I miss them terribly when they are gone. I am, however, glad to have Routine and Schedule brought back into my life!

Oh how I miss those two rascals during the summer months. Having Lazy and Spontaneous come for a visit is fun, for about the first ten minutes of June. Then they start getting on my nerves. They sap my energy. They make me crabby and irritable.

I am one of those BO people – Born Organized. I have to have a plan, and a list of things to accomplish. I need everything put away in its place, preferably labeled with those embossed sticky label thingies. (Just joking!) When Routine and Schedule take up residence in my home, well, I’m one happy camper.

Unfortunately, I’m the only one. DH and DK’s couldn’t care less. So what’s a loving Mom to do to keep her family reasonably happy? Relax the routine in the summer months.

And count the days until school starts again.

My children returned to school on August 14, 2007. They are now happy about it.

– according to my teenage daughter. THE day of her life. Today she gets a learner’s permit and can “officially” drive the car. Over my dead body!

ACK! Can I please turn back the clock and make her a precious baby, that adorable sweet smelling bundle that made me a Mom? Can I turn her back to that adorable four year old with a lisp and a precocious vocabulary? Can I make her ten years old again, still taking tap lessons and learning to ride a horse?

I suppose not. She’s a wonderful young woman: smart, generous and kind. She’s totally gorgeous, and completely unaware of her beauty.

It’s time to start letting go. Besides, once she gets that license, she can help drive her younger siblings everywhere!