The Waves of Summer (ending)

This is a sad antithesis to the "Summer Waves" one would normally think of... involving toes in the sand, and in the... everywhere else.

Exactly one week from today I return to school. Summer vacation ends. The school year begins. The calendar will tell us that the last day of Summer is September 21st. However, for most of us, especially those in school- or with kids in school- we will debate that Labor Day is "really" the last day of summer.

For the McHenrys though, summer is already coming to an end... in different waves.

Football season has officially begun. This is not as easy as simply watching the TV in the other room, as it is for some "Football Widows." No this means that Jason leaves before I get out of bed in the morning and returns home shortly before he is ready to fall back into the bed. Right now the team has 2-a-days. However, I don't imagine the schedule will be any kinder once classes start next week and there is only one practice. With my volunteer work, a (nondriving) son active in sports and other activities and a toddler... this is going to take for some very creative scheduling (and meal-planning).

Cross Country season has also begun, which means I am driving Cameron to and from the high school every morning.Trust me, leaving at 8:15 in the morning is a bit hard after peeling myself out of bed at 10 most mornings this summer.

I might as well fall into the routine of driving to the high school though, because I return next week. (For which I will have to crawl- kicking and screaming... or at least heavily crying- by 7:00... ish.) I thought we would not go back until Wednesday, so I have a doc appointment on Monday and a pending spa day on Tuesday, all of which must be cancelled. I am just a smidgen ready to return though. This has been a very restful and reviving summer, much less stressed than the past two.

This seems a good time to revisit the Summer 2012 Bucket List to see what I want to still squeeze in (before Labor Day).

1. Visit Water Country & Busch Gardens at least 3 times each- We've been to both 1.5 times. The 0.5 times being visits cut short by bad weather or bad attitudes- namely mine. I'd like to get in one visit more to each before Labor Day, and then a final visit before the season ends to each- September for Water Country and October for Busch Gardens.

2. Visit the beach at least 3 times- We've only been once. This one does make me sad. I want to squeeze in one more visit before Labor Day and hopefully one more this season!

3. Complete a scrapbook for Benjamin's first year or for all the old Key Club pics- Did not happen. I did start a scrapbook for Key Club... and realize my OCD-creative detail (oxymoron?) means it is going to take quite a while to complete a lay-out. It was fun, surprising that given my scrapbooking stash, it was the first time I tried it. I learned what not to do, lol (cut the paper smaller, leaving no margin for the binder- ooops). This can definitely be an ongoing stress-reliving creative endeavor. I just have to force myself to make time for it weekly!

4. Visit DC or Baltimore for one (mayyybe 2) days- Did not happen, and that's okay. I couldn't really justify the expense of an overnight stay and was not romanced by the long drive. There was the mini- get away for Harrisonburg. I think I will revisit the idea of a DC trip for Spring Break. That's when I have taken the boys before and it's a good time to go.

5. Picnic at the Chesapeake (or Portsmouth?) park with the train- Did not happen. However, we did visit the local park and rode the train at the zoo. It's a little hard to justify driving an hour to go to the park.

6. Get craft room painted, built, organized, and functioning- Check! I do want need to get a functioning work side to the room. As is, I am going to have to decommission my craft table for school work, and I know that's just going to make me less likley to clean it all up to engage in creative time.

7. Go to an outdoor concert- Well, there was the outdoor concert at the beach when we went. However, it was during that concert when I realized (remembered?) how crowded they are... and at the risk of sounding old, that was just not an attractive idea. I think I want to go to a Tides game instead. I just have to figure out a day Coach can go or figure out how to entertain a two-year old alone at the stadium.

8. Visit the Living Museum once (Dinosaurs exhibit) and the Children's Museum once (Curious George exhibit)- Got a membership to the Children's Museum and went twice! Did not go to the Living Museum. Usually we get a membership to one local museum and frequent that one for the year and then go to a different one the following year. Well, since we chose to do the Children's Museum and Zoo memberships this year, I decided not to to go to the Living Museum this summer. But, we've been to the zoo twice also!

9. Make an entry (or two) in the County Fair- I decided against this. When, the time came around for fair registration, I did have a few available crafts to enter (especially a Recycled Metal Jewelry that I felt pretty confident for the win). However, the more I thought about all those entries sitting on open display in the "barn" for the three days so the public could peruse them, the more I thought that I treasured my new creations more than I would a blue sheath of satin with "Southampton County Fair" emblazoned on it.

10. Start the school year with a functional curriculum and set of lesson plans- Haha! Well, there's three weeks before Labor Day, right?