Toughest week of the year

Today begins one of the saddest weeks of the year for me. While most parents are rejoicing in the fact that next Monday is the first day of school I am mourning the end of mostly carefree summer days.

Zeus figured out years ago that when June 1st arrives I will be at the pool as often as possible with the kids, soaking in the sunshine and listening to the non-stop laughter of my grandchildren. There is always a plentiful supply of red licorice, crackers and granola bars to munch on. This year Eris was the parent at home so we were able to spend many hours solving the problems of the world from our lounge chairs.

It seems that water plays a large part of summer for us. A few weeks ago I went with Athena, Bubba and Jubee for an afternoon of water skiing with Jenn and Derek. It is times like this that I realize how quickly the kids are growing up. Bubba is pretty awesome on a wake board!

Life in general kind of gets put on hold for these three hot months. Cleaning the house is wayyy down on my list of priorities. The basics get done, reluctantly, but anything else can wait until the leaves change colors. My cupboards and drawers are getting close to needing a Hazmat Warning sign posted on them. I worry that someone will open one and give me that Martha Stewart look when they see the crumbs all over the pantry floor. When September arrives (wahhh) I will tackle the house once again, one room at a time, including those drawers that are crammed full of papers and whatever else I didn't put in it's proper place because I was in a hurry to get to the pool.

This morning it was still dark at 6:15 when I left the house, a sure sign that my summer is fading fast. Until the Winter Solstice arrives I'll be losing precious coinage time in the mornings and bird watching time in the evenings. *long sigh*

We have one more week before everyone dons their backpacks and goes back to the business of over-achieving and getting their education . Even Zeus is taking a class at USU this year. After that I guess I will start cleaning out those cupboards. Maybe I might even venture down into my Lair and start cutting up all that fabric that has been neglected.

To see more of our summer photos, including those taken at the annual Pool Party, go to the Shooting blog.

$2.20

Note: Jodi and Jan, we will be up there on Thursday. Why don't you join us?