Last Moments of Summer

By now, most school aged children have gone back to the classroom.

We're one of the last school communities to head back.

With five days left until school starts, we're cramming in everything...swimming, swinging/sliding at the park, bike riding, ice cream eating, garden tending, library going...and I have to say that it's sweet and painful in the same breath.

We purposely planned very few activities this summer.  We wanted to fly by the seat of our pants and enjoy the moments.  It was a gamble knowing that we could all go insane without much of a schedule.

But to our surprise, aside from the normal times of sibling rivalry, we all seemed to do more than fine.

Our oldest is headed into second grade and our middle one is going into kindergarten.  And even the kindergarten program is a half-day (well, more like a three hour) experience.  So, not super committal.

But my heart feels heavy trying to savor them, trying to remember these times.

And so today at the park, while they gathered sticks and pine cones to make a village in the sand, I watched them, took a mental picture and begged God to help me remember them just like this.

It was perfect for a brief moment...until Sam kicked Kate's castle down, Claire got sand in her eyes and the little boy playing along side them pooped himself and stunk up the joint.

Ah, summer is officially coming to an end.