It Isn't, But It Is...

According to meteorologists, summer isn't over. It technically lasts until September 23rd, but that's just so much scientific jabber. We all know that summer ends when school begins.

And not a moment too soon around my house. My kids were at that "we're bored with everything, so we're going to pester each other constantly" stage. That's the surest sign it's time for more structure. Summers at our house are a weird mixture of activity and laziness. Both of my kids play sports, so between practices and games for softball, baseball, and lacrosse, we had to be somewhere almost every evening of the week. Plenty of activity. Knowing that, I allowed the days to be relatively lazy and unscheduled. There were always the day-to-day chores to be done (theoretically), but beyond that, the days held little structure, as an antidote for the havoc of the nights. My "plan" was always this: we have to be here at __:00; we need to be ready by __:00; until then, do what you want. It works well for us. But soon the games are over, the playoffs and the tournaments wind down, and the beginning of August heralds the waning of the "no school" bacchanalia.

I for one am glad to see summer go. I've never been a big fan of the heat and humidity, and the bright sunshine hurts my eyebulbs (which is why I wear sunglasses even on cloudy days). I am ready for fall: cooler, shorter days, longer nights, a rekindling of the fireplace, and hunting season. Not to mention the kids out of my hair for 6 hours a day. So I have all kinds of projects planned, a solid half of which I'll never get to. But I'll think about doing them while I engage in the other half.