summer, yardwork and motherhood

So, school got out yesterday and I have a child who has finished first grade. How (and when) did that happen? When I picked Ella up after school, I thought she would be excited that it was over and she was free for three months. But when she got in the car, she surprised me by starting to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm going to miss my teacher." It broke my heart but I understand why--she had an amazing teacher, Mrs. Johnston, this year who she absolutely adored. I told her that since teachers had to keep working during the summer and would be at the school, we could stop by sometime to visit her. That seemed to make things better.

Speaking of summer, how am I going to keep these two girls of mine busy (oh, and have a baby in the middle of it all)? Well, my friends, I have introduced the idea of "Summer School". I have tried as much as possible to get prepared by buying workbooks and activity books, gathering some ideas of things to do and creating a schedule to keep me organized. I'm excited about it and so are the girls. Ella especially has been talking about it a lot over the past few weeks, thinking of fun things we can do and planning when we can do them. I think it will be fun and I'm trying hard to keep them involved in the planning so they stay interested and so they do the actual learning stuff. I'm sure I will be reporting on our progress here often.

Next subject--yardwork. I think I've had enough of it. It seems like that's all we've been doing with our spare time over the past month and a half. Every single Saturday we're out there all day and I think I'm ready to be done. I have a couple of loose ends to tie up but I'm putting my foot down--no more marathon days out working. It's just not right, especially for a seven and a half month pregnant woman! On the positive side, we have made major progress and our yard is looking fantastic (all the shrubs are planted, some flower bulbs made it into the ground, almost all of the trees are in) and we've gotten a lot of fresh air. It's taken a ton of work and needs quite a bit more, but I'm so happy with how it's turning out. It's really becoming a place we can enjoy as a family and I'm loving that.

Last thing I need to comment on is motherhood. The other day, Ella and I were talking about (of all things) cruises. She saw a show on The Travel Channel about a cruise ship and she has been asking us when we can go on one ever since. So, we were talking about them and I was telling her about the ones I've been on and the 30th birthday one I took with my high school girlfriends came up. She asked why she wasn't invited and I told her that sometimes moms need to just get away by themselves sometimes. That was such a confusing concept for her. She wanted to know why and I tried to explain how and why a mom's job was hard and that it's important that we have some time to ourselves. She said, "It doesn't seem that hard to me. You just make people some food and get their clothes and stuff like that." I realized that I was never going to be able to explain to her everything that goes into being a mom--the joys, frustrations, difficulties, struggles, successes, etc., etc. It is something she will never understand until she experiences it someday herself. I had heard for years that motherhood is the hardest job in the world but I had to become a mother myself to truly understand what that means. So, to my own mother, who I never fully appreciated and who was the best example of motherhood (and still is), thank you and I love you. And to all the other mothers I get to interact with (sister, sisters-in-law, friends), a big shout-out to you and a thank you for your support, humor and example of mothering all these amazing little people. Take a second everyday to be grateful for this amazing job we have and give all those kiddos lots of hugs and kisses. I know I'm going to. Oh, and take a cruise by yourself or with some girlfriends sometime--I'm feeling about due for another one. How about it, ladies?