Myrtle Beach, SC

My kids do not get to see their beloved cousins as much as they’d like.  They live in Maryland.  We live in Florida.  So my sister and I have picked South Carolina as a good meeting place. We try to vacay together every summer at a fun family resort that has lots of children’s activities and a pretty awesome pool bar. I personally love the combination of oceanfront beauty and the nearby “Broadway at the Beach” chaos.  We always have a magical time. Daniel and Annabel had a blast reconnecting with Maddie, Kate, and (Baby) Luke for a week this past July.

The anticipation of today was definitely more stressful than the smooth morning we actually had. Both kids woke up and ran downstairs to see their first day of school surprise treats.  I made breakfast and then it was a tick-tock rush to fill the lunch boxes, brush teeth, wash faces, get dressed, take photos, and double-check everything before we finally headed out the door.  (Don’t forget the flowers!, Daniel said.) This was the first year Annabel wore a plaid jumper as her school uniform and that cuteness, combined with the Mary Jane shoes, was enough to make me tear up.  But I held it together.

Everything felt different this time.  There have been SO MANY of these first days of school. And each one has left me in a little weepy mess after the morning drop off.  This year the excitement definitely trumped the sadness.  Maybe I’m in denial because this summer break went way too fast and I feel like my babies are still in day camp and will be coming home in 5 minutes. (Are they really starting school on August 14th??) But I think it’s because these two incredible little people were ready.  And instead of feeling that awkward sense of emptiness when their hands suddenly let go of mine, I felt a sweet swell of pride in my heart as I watched them confidently walk away because those two? Yep, those two are MY kids.

And nothing in the world makes me happier.

Remember when Daniel didn’t like his outdoor adventure camp?  Well, the best thing I ever did was switch him to a LEGO camp.  He spends three hours a day INSIDE A SCHOOL CLASSROOM. BUILDING LEGOS. FOR THREE HOURS.

He couldn’t be happier.

A Sunday evening. The sun going down.  A shady seat.  A cold beer and a hot dog.  The constant sounds of bats cracking and kids laughing.  Hanging with my family at a baseball game.  It doesn’t get much better. I heart America.

Wow, summer has really thrown me for a loop.  That’s what happens when I spend the entire school year organized and scheduled.  I mean scheduled to the “every-thirty-minutes” scheduled.  I was so happy when my kids’ last day of school finally arrived so I could toss it all out the window and just exhale.  No schedules.

But that’s not how I operate and I should know better.  As soon as the first non-scheduled day started, I felt “out of whack.”  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun “out of whack.”  Like sleeping later, making scrambled eggs for breakfast every day, deciding to throw on the swimsuit and go to the pool for an hour whenever we feel like it, all that good stuff.   I don’t have to worry about dinner times or bedtimes as much anymore.  It’s liberating.  A little.

I thrive so much on schedules that it’s a struggle for me to relax when everything goes off schedule. And it’s a challenge when I have to fit in all the personal projects I work on like this blog and Pop Kids Report.  Then there’s that dreaded laundry, which I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that my son had to wear regular clothes to bed last night because no PJs were clean. I just feel so completely disorganized.  I know it’s bad when I haven’t even filled in my July family calendar.  It’s our Bible for who’s doing what, when, and where.  Instead, everything currently sits on sticky notes, scraps of ripped paper, or in my scattered brain.

I know I need to relax. It’s SUMMER!  I just need to let it go.  I was relieved when both kids had Vacation Bible School camp for half days last week. That was great.  I could get back to a bit of a routine. After that, Daniel was signed up for a brand new outdoor adventure camp.  He was looking forward to it for months.  The description said there would be archery! And kayaking! And snow cones every afternoon!  He was stoked.  Daniel is my sensitive soul and he was nervous on the first day. I expected that because he had no friends going with him. And he handled it like a champ at drop off.  But at pick up I could tell he was not himself. He just looked so SAD.  He barely spoke.  He finally told me he spent the entire day attached to one of the junior counselors because most of the kids already knew each other.  He said there was NO archery and NO kayaking.  (Which I’m sure were just reserved for later days in the week.)  There WAS a snow cone (0h, thank goodness), but that was his only highlight.  A snow cone.  And that was all he could say he enjoyed from the experience.  (The not-so-inexpensive-experience, might I add.) I don’t want my kid to be SAD.  It’s summer! So I took him out.  I confess. I did. He’s a good kid who is always involved in things during the school year. And it’s summer!  He’s supposed to be relaxed and have fun!  It was a bit selfish too.  I did not want to sit home worrying every day for two weeks about my kid not having fun.  So he’s been home all week waiting for the LEGO camp to start. (Definitely more his speed.)

Then add in that our private swim coach broke her ankle.  This was our second swim coach.  (The first one moved.)  And I loved her!  She was so great with my daughter who really needs that pushing and tough love.  So I’m searching for a new swim coach to throw us back into some type of routine.

So the daily chores are piling up.  I’m neglecting my work.  My kid hated camp.  We’re not taking swimming lessons.  And I haven’t even mentioned that we’re trying to rearrange some of our summer vacation, I got majorly cursed out by a crazy driver yesterday, and we all need haircuts.  I finally decided (on this first OFFICIAL day of summer) that I need to take my husband’s advice and focus on the positive.  So here it goes:  I love the beach and I’ve had two amazing days at the beach already.  The first was a romantic overnight date with my husband where we stayed oceanfront, ordered room service, got a massage, and just relaxed.  And then we had a super fun family day at the beach on Father’s Day.  We spent the entire day on the sand and in the water.  It was perfection.

And I won’t even mention the sunburns.  Oops.

Daniel’s last days as a Kindergartner were action-packed.  Not only did he learn to read this year, but he went to his very first PGA golf tournament and on his very first father/son camping trip.

Now back to that reading part.  It really is amazing to witness the light bulb going off.  He would spend one week struggling with a few words and sounds and then, just three weeks later, he’s reading paragraphs.  He reads books in every room in the house.  I will wake up in the morning and he will already have his bedroom light on while reading a book in his pajamas.  I sometimes just watch him from the door crack as his eyes scan the pages.  It’s truly an honor to witness.  (Not to sound cheesy but, hey, I’m his Mama.)

I was Daniel’s Homeroom Mom again this year.  He had an awesome group of kids in his class and one dedicated teacher.  She really took all the children under her wing and she helped Daniel come out of his shell.  He read aloud to the class many times.  He can now write sentences.  He continues to be my little artist and he loves P.E. class.  He learned tons of Spanish words, played instruments in music class, and went to a museum, a musical, and a farm for his field trips.  He also took an extra Math class after school and completed three new levels.  He loves baseball and finished off his final T-ball season this Spring. This Fall he’ll start fast pitch. That’s also when he’ll enter his first official “number grade.”  I’m so very proud of this kid.

 

Wasn’t it just YESTERDAY that I was crying on my couch because I had dropped off my little girl at the”big kid” school for the very first time?  Man, that was rough.  And here we are now. At the end of the road.  The very last day.  And it has been such a sweet, sweet ride.

Annabel is leaving the school year with a huge boost of confidence, a handful of new friends, and some fun adventures under her belt.  She did after-school dance and participated in her first team sport: Soccer!

She can write her name like a champ and she signs every drawing with a heart or a butterfly.  She loved the centers at school, especially the cars and blocks, and I know that’s because they remind her of her brother. There were fairytale adventures on the playground, discoveries during computer lab, tons of favorite books brought home from the library, and she can sing the “days of the week” in Spanish.  Some days she would buy lunch and some days she wanted her lunchbox, but every day she was happy to walk through those doors and start a new day.

She will miss her teachers and the toys and the field trip to the Publix grocery store, but she is excited for the start of summer.  Don’t even mention Kindergarten to me yet, okay?

Happy Last Day of Pre-K, Annabel!  I’m so very proud of you.