2nd grade came to a close in early June, 3 years with Mrs. S, sad good-byes, the promise of summer and late bed times. I missed the end of year play, no less. The oppressive heat has settled in like an *unwanted* warm blanket, almost suffocating. The sounds of mockingbirds singing alone at night, the cardinals perched on our bird feeder, sunsets, sleeping in, lazy days. No vacations, they aren't possible now. Surgery on the horizon, again, for my Goose. Long talks about her favorite tv show (Beyblade), the length of life, what the year 3000 will look like, China parents, and wishing for a sister or the ability to walk. Coloring together, seeing movies, giggling. A lot. Some tears too as she grieves those 3 years in her class. Anxiety mounts as the new school year inches ever closer. She's outgrowing her chair. Hair is longer by the minute but never long enough for her ;) Hiro sleeps and snores and barks and bites his leash, happily devours the rainbow loom bands that easily find their way to the floor. Play dates. New friends. Dinners next door and dinners out. G and I working on this new relationship-as friends. Single parenthood simultaneously challenging in a way that equals pure exhaustion, but somehow equally as rewarding. Weight gain year after year. No time for anything but laundry, cleaning, yard work, job, a measure of sleep... oh, and the giggling, coloring, snuggling, talking. Short visits with family. Dad survives a massive heart attack. We dream of distant lands. A trip to China. Or Texas. Anywhere outside of the state we are in... meanwhile, day trips to the ocean or a new city, museums, parks. Staycations and swimming. Incredible thunderstorms. More doctor visits than a little girl can count. Life is hard. Life is also and always so good.
Great summary of all that is taking place in your lives. There is no way that I can touch upon everything you wrote, but it's always a potpourri of good and bad, isn't it? And of longings for certain places and certain people. I can remember the mixture of joy and sadness that I felt as a kid when school ended for the summer. Joy because, of course, no more school for a while. Sadness because I wouldn't get to see some of my friends again until the following school year, unless they moved away, which meant I'd lose touch with them completely. My English teacher, Mr. Lukas, once during a lecture casually mentioned to the class, "Someday you will wish you were back here again." I knew it was true then as much as I know it's true now. I think E is feeling a little bit of that now that she is moving on to third grade. Oh and don't get me started about the anxiety from beginning of a new school year (the sweaty palms, the butterflies, heartbeats that felt more like drumbeats, etc).
ReplyDeleteGlad your dad is Ok after that terrible experience, btw.
And as long as you are giggling, coloring, snuggling, talking, and having short visits with family, you have enough oases to get you from one desert to another without dying of thirst. :-) And late bed times during vacations are a summer staple in the lives of every child! Give me a good movie to watch at night or a sky full of stars and I'm living the magic. :-)
I'll drive, pick a date that works. we are meeting. suddenly all 5' 3 of me sounds quite threatening, maybe Robin and Maddie want to come too. Ill head over that side of the State and get them first. whatever it takes.
ReplyDeleteyou are making me laugh :) yes, we will meet, i am sure of it. but no need to hike it to hotville central florida. maybe a central location for all of us... Orlando or something like that? i would very very much love to meet.
DeleteI'm so glad you updated! I love watching your beautiful daughter grow. And the way you write about your lives is like poetry. So sorry for the hard times. Will pray for each of you. Glad there are many memory-making fun times this summer!
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