Grounded in that way.

Like so many other stay-at-home parents out there, the last day of summer break for me was bittersweet. It bums me out to no end that too-early mornings are now a part of our weekly routine. Have I mentioned before that I despise mornings? With an unnatural passion? Despise. Waiting in car rider lines isn't my thing, either. Heck, waiting in any line drives me bananas. Gone are the nights free of homework. Gone is the ability to pick up and go at a moment's notice for a quick getaway in the middle of the week. Yeah, the end of summer break always brings a tear to my eyes.

However, there is a flip side. There's always a silver lining. With Ella and Summit in school, I don't have to try to come up with ways to entertain constantly. Since the little dirt monsters won't be home so much, I won't have to clean so freaking much. Or incessantly remind them of the appropriate ways to use furniture... I don't understand how many times I have to tell them that the couch is NOT A DAMN TRAMPOLINE! PLEASE! Even better, there'll be fewer moments where I have to referee. I could do a dance for that idea. Seriously, why why why do they fight like that? Why? And, hell to the yeah on saying "peace out" to the unending tattle-telling. Hell to the yeah! I reached a point many times during the summer where I just told them, "I don't care. Really. Go beat each other up. Bite him. Pinch her. Break his dinosaur. Throw the doll down the stairs. I don't care anymore." I'm not lying when I say that I envisioned many Calgon-take-me-away experiences over the past few weeks.

Still, I'll miss the little mongrels. I'll miss days by the pool and late mornings spent snuggling in bed and even later breakfasts. I'll miss listening to the sounds of their happy-time voices and the belly laughs that make my world bright. So, as one last weekday hurrah, we had lunch at a restaurant of Ella's choice, or second choice since The Rusty Anchor doesn't serve lunch on Wednesdays. After stuffing our faces at San Jose, we went for a lazy afternoon by my parents' pool and just were there. That's all. And I took pictures. And that's all.

And, that's when I realized even more that I'll miss my kids during the school year. Except for the part where Summit bit the you-know-what out of his sister... I won't miss that. But, there was a really cool part with Ella when I was just taking pictures of flowers, and she put her little creative mind to work and made the prettiest little flower boat in the pool. And, the pictures of it came out amazingly. And, it almost made me cry to know that the unadulterated, not jaded, perfectly free-spirited little loves who bring back those long-forgotten parts of me won't be with me to keep me grounded in that way.