She keeps telling me that she cannot wait for school to start, my Maylie. She is so excited to find out who her teacher is this year (she is hoping for a certain one). She is anticipating which friends of hers will be in her class and looking forward to making new friends.
And I am over here like, whoa baby! Slow it down! We are still in July! But then, I came to realize that July is flying by. Too soon, we will be welcoming the month where school does start again. And, well, I am just not ready for it.
I mean, not only am I soaking up the late summer nights where bedtime ceases to exist, swimming goes well into the evening and adventures last well past dark. But also, look at my baby girl! She is nowhere near a baby anymore.
In fact, she is stuck somewhere in between – the sweet spot – where she can potty and shower by herself but hasn’t yet slipped into that smart mouth. She is innocent and sweet – the world hasn’t jaded her into her preteens yet – but she is also learning to cook her own rice and peel her own cucumbers.
Summers have only gotten easier with my girls. Actually, after years and years of adjusting goggles all weekend long, I was even able to make a rule this year that I don’t do goggles (after the first weekend of nonstop goggle fixing). And do you know what? They figured out how to adjust the goggles themselves! Alleluia!
But, that’s the thing, as I get more freedom from the nuisances of the annoying parts of mom duties, they also pull away from all of the joys of mom duties. Maylie and I, we no longer have our hair washing in the bath chit chats or putting on shoes pep talks. She does all these things herself now. Heck, she even makes attempts at her own hairdos – but I think she may let me keep those in my book for a little while longer. (I lost Reagan and her independent self to that a while ago).
Regardless, this is her only summer at 9 years old. The only time I have with her at this age. And quite honestly, it is going too quick. In just a few short years, she may be too cool to hang out with me every weekend. And a few years after that, she will be driving away by herself.
No, I cannot handle that!
Therefore, this summer, it needs to stick around. There are way too many lightning bugs to catch out there, so many more jumps in the pool that I want her to scream out “mom” and ask me to watch, a ton more sidewalk chalk drawings that I want to appreciate, so many more dances in the kitchen and karaoke parties in the car that I want to experience with my girls.
Yes, I am glad that my girl is looking forward to the upcoming school year. I mean, it definitely beats her dreading it. Still, I don’t want her to start fourth grade just yet because that means that my kids will be yet another year older and another year from that sweet baby face that I remember kissing and snuggling daily just yesterday.
So, not yet are we going to talk about school starting and preparing for the year ahead. Not yet are we going to shop for all the supplies and start putting names on everything. Not yet are we going to ease back into routines, extracurricular activities and early morning rushes.
Instead, I am going to soak up this next month – every single part of it – even the times when I definitely should have made them go to bed earlier and they are grumps in the morning. I am going to let a few things slide that maybe shouldn’t slide – yes, today only we can eat in the living room. Because I only get this time with them once. They will never be this age again.
And school, this next year, it can wait, at least for a few weeks. I need a little more time of loving on my babies at exactly the age that they are.
