I Love Summer!

At last the school year has ended and I get a few weeks to try to catch up on all the things that I didn't get done while I worked. I will also get a chance to enjoy more time with my husband, children and grandchildren, and of course, Jade, Midnight and Mellow. I have to mention them (our pets) because they are a part of our household.

I love summer because, my time is my own. Instead of being run by a school schedule, clock and calendar planner, I get to choose what to do with my day (for the most part). I love that! If one of my kids need me to help them with something, I have the time to do it. If I want to do something fun with grandkids, I can do it. If I want to work on geneology or scrapbooking in longer time increments, I can do it. If I want to work in the garden and actually finish a section of yard work without rushing off to work, I can do it. If I just want to stay home and read a book, I can do it. If I get sick, I can stay home and get well without feeling guilty. I can also just sit around and think. Something I used to do more often, but feels like a luxury now. I can have enough energy at the end of the day (instead of feeling exhausted when I get home) to do more things that I like to do.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my work and it is very rewarding most of the time, but it is also demanding and at times stressful. It does wear me out by the end of the day. I guess I'm getting older. Not as much energy. I guess it is the selfish part of me coming out....being able to do what I want and like to do, when I want to. So I do love summer even though it goes by too quickly. The nice thing is that it comes around every year.

OK. I'm not good at this, but just a few words on Mother's Day. Many women I know hate Mother's Day. I'm not sure if it's because we feel so inadequate at not being able to measure up to what our idea of a "good" mother should be or because we always hope for a peaceful, tranquil day in which our children are perfect angels all day long and our husbands pamper and adore us, anticipating our every need and whim. Maybe it's both, in any case, Mother's Day is often a big disappointment for many women. Me included. However, now that I'm older, my kids have grown up and are no longer yelling and fighting with each other in the car on the way home from church, and I don't have to feel like I'm a failure as I listen to talks exalting the virtues of mothers who do not resemble me in the least. Now as I look at my children, their spouses, grandchildren and husband, I feel a sense of contentment and peace at the family that surrounds me and that I have tried to nurture. In return I feel love and acceptance of me, the imperfect mother...and I realize it is enough. In fact it is more than I could have hoped for...being loved by such wonderful people. Thanks for the memories.