There’s a slowness about this time of year that I sometimes have trouble making peace with. I feel less efficient. This goes against my grain in many ways.
To start with, the children have camp schedules that change the flow of our days from what they used to be… and what that comes down to is a major change in how I get to tap into my creative juice: it’s hard to write with kids in the house at odd hours of the day.
And because I don’t drive, there’s a lot of foot-travel to and fro, several times a day on the same beaten path, in the heat (or the rain) pushing a stroller and chasing one on a bike… and you want to say YES to more things, like going to the pool as much as possible, and staying out in the park until waaaaaay past dinner time, which is just as well, because we only have scrambled eggs and watermelon for dinner, since the groceries (when should I do that these days?) still haven’t been shopped for during yet another neverending day of summertime fun.
But it’s okay.
The best thing about not trying to break my head about getting it all done (besides the obvious plus of not having a broken head) is that I get to ingest my kids in a different way. They look different to me. Bigger, too.
I hear snippets of their conversations and I listen to them sing radio songs together, working out the words…
She sings: I a born dis way, I a born dis way… I a big, fat baby and I born dis way…
He corrects her for the millionth time, and I can tell by his tone how completely annoyed he is. I just shake my head and wonder how they hell they even know this song, since I’ve basically put the kibosh on all things Lady Caca. (Okay, not really… that song is just a thinly-veiled version of Madonna’s Express Yourself, right?) Whatever. She doesn’t thrill me much. And we don’t listen to a lot of top-40 radio, so how can they even know??!
I watch them milling around me, with nothing in particular to do, and no where specific to go, and I just take it all in. I notice what they choose to amuse themselves with – lately she loves maracas and shaking her hips to Latin music. He wants to draw pictures of race cars, and ask me endless streams of questions about anything he can think of.
It’s warm all the time now, so their limbs are always exposed, and I see the length in their bones, and the chubby parts turning to long, sinewy muscles, and the length of their hair, and their browning summer skin… and I feel the need to snap more pictures of them again, since it feels like it’s been a while. I love to listen to them laugh, in that infectious way that thrills me, with all of their joy and with their heads thrown back…
It’s good to have some down time, and late-day sunshine, and popsicle eating, and picture-taking… and resting your head.
It’s next to impossible to do more than this right now anyway, so why fight it?
They are the cutest! Enjoy your time, it is fleeting. I love the lazy days of summer, it always seems too short to me.
I hear you sister. I love Grumbleland but the gorgeousness is killing me. Even the feet are cute. AGH.
sigh.
it’s true, it seems so fleeting and precious that I always want to stop and take it with both hands – but it’s also busy season at work, so I don’t get as much of that as I’d like. I need to make myself do more of the holding on and taking every moment this year, because I’m starting to feel how this won’t all last long.
Beautiful post, beautiful children, beautiful mama.
sigh.
I so feel this way too. Unfortunately, I’m NOT lucky (yes lucky!!) enough to work from home, so I don’t get to enjoy it quite as much as you do. I am, however, looking forward to spending from tonight until July 11th with my little Missy Doodle with no outside work “having” to be done.
We will be lakeside enjoying family time with our extended family and I CAN’T WAIT!!
I’m also planning on taking some more time later in the summer so we can do some fun day trips to help create all those wonderful memories like I had growing up!!
I hope the sun continues to shine on grumble land (and us too!) and we all have an amazing time with our growing-much-too-quickly littles.
Amreen, if you’re trying to make me fall in love with you, you’re entirely too late… 😉
Thank you, lady…!!
Yes. Totally. “No Ugly Allowed.” This is our motto and creed. *snicker:snort*
You’re so sweet, Village… xox
You’re right, Aileen – I have to remember to stop rushing things along so much. (But, how many days until school starts again?)
Oh, Amanda, you darling woman… it’s not easy for me to let that to-do list suffer, but my tribe around these parts make me feel so much better about things – thank you.
And hell yes, “laid-backness” is totally a word. 😉
ok, first of all – how gorgeous is that kid? i mean seriously, she makes Gap baby models look awkward.
AND – how beautifully do you write? This paragraph literally put tears in my eyes at 9am.
“It’s warm all the time now, so their limbs are always exposed, and I see the length in their bones, and the chubby parts turning to long, sinewy muscles, and the length of their hair, and their browning summer skin”
Fall will come and they will all look older, browner, wiser. What will we do when they grow up????
is every moment a stylish and beautiful one over there in grumble land? Are no ugly and unfashionable people allowed? Honestly. Speak to me.
Go with the flow, baby. Summer is short and the littles aren’t little for long.
So glad you’re letting yourself enjoy the laid-backness (totally a word) of the season, even though your to-do list might suffer. You are a most excellent momma. 🙂