The Party is Almost Over...

I have 2 (weekdays) until I go back to work.

I don't officially start until Tuesday, August 28, but I'm going in on Monday because, let's face it, 3 days to get my act together is not long enough. (I'm supposed to work 'contract' days, August 28, 29, 30. And it is supposed to be sufficient to get everything ready. Yeah, right!)

It is always this time of year that I feel like a deflated balloon. I look back at my summer and wonder if I got the 'most' out of it; I wonder if my kids had the best of me, and enjoyed our time together. I know it isn't possible to do 'everything,' but I certainly try.

There's definitely a list of stuff I didn't get taken care of that I'd hoped to do over this summer. For instance, yard work-- I had hoped to get my yard into better shape--trim the 2 gigantic hedges in my back yard, plant more annuals for some color, and, at the least, get some fresh bark-o-mulch down in the front yard. I'd also hoped to get Chubb's baby book finally completed (let's face that one for what it is--I didn't even so much as look at the pictures/scrapbook stuff). He's two, now, I should at least have slapped the pictures into the book (I've given up on cutesy, artistic pages), but I haven't. Sigh. Maybe by the time he hits high-school I'll have it done (forget about remembering what the pictures are about!!!). I'd also hoped to de-clutter my house a bit more. I managed to clean out my dresser of clothes that are too big/that I don't wear. So, at least that counts for something.

It is strange, I have a friend in the same line of work as me who feels this depressed sensation after the end of the year, about a week after she's on vacation. I haven't felt that. She misses the action and the routine and feels a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities of summer. After about a week, though, she feels great. I feel deflated because the time goes by so quickly. I will have to put my kids back in daycare, and be back to the 'daily grind.' I miss my kids when I'm at work. I count myself lucky, though, since I get summers and holidays with my kids. I know it is a lot more than most people get with their kids. And, I know I'll be fine after the first two weeks. I always am. It is just tough to wind through the last two days of summer before I'm back to busy, busy, busy.

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with the kiddos today. Yesterday we played 'Bob the Builder' and drew pictures all morning, followed with two separate trips to the Park. They had a blast (I did, too). I would like to take the kids to the nearby theme park, or to the children's museum, here in town, the only problem is a significant lack of funds. Sometimes, I need to throw caution to the wind and just 'go for it'.

Today may be one of those days.

We can't preserve today and use it for tomorrow. Once today is passed, we can never get it back again. There's a great sticker that I often see on the helmets of Harley riders, it says: 'Ride it like you stole it.' Isn't that great? Sort of live life to the fullest, full-throttle. I want to start to live more of my days that way.

Care to join me? Let's live, full-throttle.