So Here We Are

Does anyone have any idea what happened to summer? I mean, I would have sworn Wyatt just finished school a few weeks ago. As I looked forward from May in this new place with no outdoor pools, summer seemed to stretch endlessly before us, but instead we had a whirlwind, amazing summer. We have had such a fun few months - lots of blogging to catch up on - but first, this: how are my kids both in school all day?! I have been looking forward to this day for a while, but now that it's here I'm sad. Glad for them and all that lies ahead, but... I mean, I've had a fairly constant companion for eight years and now I'm supposed to get through thirty-five hours a week by myself. Millie isn't even great company anymore.

I have some projects in mind, mostly those things that never get fully executed with a move (organizing closets, anyone?) and that are hard to accomplish with kids here (purging toys, anyone?) but it seems like maybe those will be finished soon. Certainly I hope to find stuff for my own mental health (baking, building, volunteering, regular blogging - could it be?) but I have a feeling things will seem out of balance for a while. I'm already committed to some time at their school, which I love because I get that behind-the-scenes view, but I still find myself thinking, "now what?" and creating mental lists of things that might never happen.

On the bright side, the two products of my last eight years' work are good kids, bringing home good behavior reports and seemingly well-adjusted. In other good news, Wyatt really is the big brother I suspected he is when we're not looking. He's been incredibly encouraging to Natalie about 'real school' and has even been known to wait for her on the playground and to sit with her on the bus. There are still the standard bickerfests, but we can't expect magic, now can we? Natalie is still adjusting to the pace of all day, every day school but I think she'll find her balance soon and she seems excited that homework started for her this week.

Better late than never, my kids on their first days of school:

Incidentally, proof that Fall arrives in one fell swoop here is in the above pictures taken exactly one week apart in our yard. Wyatt started school at the end of summer when it was still warm enough for shorts and Natalie began a week later at the start of Fall. This place is pretty amazing!