Last Day Jitters

First day last fall

Last day today

As a parent, it is hard to see the growth and changing that happens in tiny bits day by day.  Then you look at a comparison from nine months ago and you see it.  Just little nuances of difference.  Size, face shape, teeth!
And so it is the last day of this school year.  The kids have the jitters the first day.  New rooms/teachers/schedules/friends.  The last day (at least this one) mom's have jitters.  Oh sure.  I'm excited that we don't have a schedule to keep.  There's the neat thing about having the kids around all the time.  Places to go.  People to see.  Things to do.  And boredom... and crabby-pants... and a wild rumpus.  And wonderful time together.  Jitters for me?  You bet.  For the first couple days anyway.  Then we settle into a new normal until fall.

I think nearly without exception, one of our children had the very. exact. same. lunch. everyday.  It almost nauseated me to keep sticking it into the lunch bag.  But that's what the child wanted.  And it was basically healthy.  I'm thinking in a few years down the road she'll be asking me why I "made" her eat the same lunch every day.  Or maybe she still will be eating it...

So the kids were reveling in the fact that it was the last day.  They were going to be 'FREE' tomorrow.  No more school.  No more books.  No more teacher's dirty looks (well hopefully they didn't get too many of those).  And really, they should enjoy it.  These days of freedom.  In just a few short years they will (hopefully!) have jobs and responsibilities.  And then they won't be 'free'.  But for now.  They have that 'I'm done!' feeling.  And they deserve it.

I am usually more tired during the summer.  You see with no real schedule, the kids stay up later.  And they sleep in.  I wish I could.  But I'm so blasted timely that when it is 6:00 am, my body says it is time to get up and get going no matter the time I go to bed.  Hopefully I survive until September 1st!

And today is an open day for me.  Kinda planned it that way.  I was thinking I'd be super-lazy and just do what I wanted until the bus roared back at 3:32.  But the Chairman is working diligently.  And so I feel like I should too.  Seems fair, no?

And unrelated to school-ending jitters.  I saw this quoted on a fellow-bloggers page.  I liked it.  So here goes:

When a woman stays at home and cooks with good judgement and understanding, peace and happiness result. She thus controls the family's health and destiny, also her husband's mood, disposition and feeling, and assures the futures of her children. - Unknown