...and so it ends

Yep, another summer vacation has come and gone.  Tonight's last hurrah of sorts, a bookgroup outing for dinner and discussion and some pity shopping with Sue.  Sigh, a quiet end to a fairly quiet summer, but it is with sorrow that I say goodbye, yet again.  Today I was looking back at old blogs, of summers past, and reading about exactly the emotions I am having right now.  It surely is time to get back to reality, to schedules and structure, to regular bedtimes and to dependable tooth brushing.  It is time for cooler temperatures, crisp fall air, color in trees, and football on Sunday, but alas, for a moment I must look back.

This summer started out the summer of Lucy, our sweet little black lab, who is still sweet, but less little.  It continued with the regular fare such as our fourth of July festivities, day trips, and fun with friends, such as American Girls Night Out with  me, Gwynn, Sue and Jilli.  There were swim lessons and lazy days in the yard.  We moved a hot water heater, installed a mammoth invisible fence, and, stupidly, ripped apart a computer room in the week before school, but hey, it's progress.  We travelled, of course, this year ONLY to Ocean City, MD, Albany, NY and Tim and myself at least, to Burlington, VT...not too shabby for a summer we weren't going to travel much - gas prices be damned.  Tim realized how old he is in the advent of his 20th HS reunion, but I realized I am just one  year behind.  Friends from college moved back to the area, and I couldn't be more thrilled.  As a final, but not to be overlooked note as well, the kids went to Lansing and stayed with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for about 1 and a half weeks of the summer ON THEIR OWN.  What a gift, both to Tim and myself, and to the kids and family.  Even in living an hour and a half away, we have nutrtured secure bonded relationships, between the kids and us, AND between the kids and the rest of their family, and I couldn't be happier.

This was a big milestone type summer for us too...15 years married.  We so wanted to do something big this year, something special.  Maybe we'd take a cruise, go to New York City...Europe even, but you know, we didn't.  Don't get me wrong, we did special things, like our day out at Empire Brewing, and wine touring and Dano's, and a couple of days in Vermont, but Tim said it best one night when we were sitting out on the patio eating a lovely dinner while the kids were in Lansing.  For our anniversary, we got TIME...Time to enjoy ourselves, time to enjoy eachother, and in being refreshed in such a manner, time to really enjoy our family as well.  

It has been a good summer.  I am thankful, but also mindful that we're headed like lemmings to the cliff of back to school.  As we careen over the edge, may I want to stay in touch with the peace I feel right now.  May I remember that a day is only a day and I am only one person.  May I continue to count my blessings.  Finally,  may I still realize that the present is a gift, and may I keep on giving myself, and my family, that precious gift that is TIME.

-Cheryl