My kids have been out of school since June 7th.  I vowed that this Summer, I would not sign the kids up for any camps or any activity for that matter that required me to be anywhere at a certain time.  Other than the evening baseball games (if they are not canceled due to rain), I pictured a Summer of care-free adventure, spur of the moment zoo and beach trips and a lot of sleeping in. 

Now I know it has only been 10 days, but half of them have been rainy and required indoor activities.  The kids are going stir crazy and in turn driving me nuts.  It makes me long for the weekday mornings I took for granted while the kids were in school. 

I had a routine.  I would drop off all four kids at three different schools and be home by about 8:15am.  I would clear the table of breakfast dishes and pick up random clothing from random places and start some laundry.  Finally, I would sit down somewhere with only a cup of coffee and silence.  No TV, no radio and other than the crack-head bird in my maple tree that wouldn’t (and still wont) shut up, it was peaceful. 

Gone are those days and I think I should have cherished them just a bit more.  My only consolation is that this upcoming school year begins in late August and for the first time EVER, I will have ALL FOUR kids in school ALL DAY.   I cannot help but grin when thinking about it.  My two hours of silence has not only the possibility of a return come August, but who knows, maybe I’ll tack on an extra half an hour or so.

 I think I am more excited than it is socially acceptable to be. 

Let the countdown begin…