It’s back to school time. The time of the year when parents gleefully post pictures of themselves jumping for joy as their children shuffle off for their first day.
But not me. I’ve been dreading tomorrow since the minute the final bell rang in June.
Maybe it’s because I mark the passage of time by the school year instead of the calendar year.
Maybe it’s because my oldest is 10 now which means I only have 8 summers left with him at home. I have fewer summers left than I have had and as each one ends, my heart is heavier than it was before.
Maybe it’s because my dad died on a July day three years ago and so the smell of salt air will always be inexorably linked with death and life. A reminder to hold close to those you love.
Or maybe it’s just that summer is free from the reason and obligation that dominate the other 9 months of the year, amplified by warmer temperatures and the heady smells of suntan lotion, chlorine, and french fries from the snack bar. In the summer you sit a little closer, talk a little longer, giggle a little louder, dream a little bigger, and love a little harder.
And I am enveloped with melancholy when it comes to an end, fearful that with every passing summer, they will start to slip away.
Today, on our last day of summer, we went to the beach, just the four of us. The wind was gusty and the waves were roiling. It was not what Jack expected. It did not fit in his plan of how the day would go.
I watched as he gave in to his disappointment. Exacerbated by anxiety about the new school year and melancholy that summer was ending, it wound tighter around him until he couldn’t find a way past it.
I got it. We’ve all been there – so caught up in our disappointment at what the moment is lacking that we can’t see the joy of what we have.
And I knew what he needed. I knew because it was exactly what I needed.
Will did too. And with only a fleeting look exchanged between us, we took his hands and dragged him into the surf agsinst his will so he could get knocked down by the waves, pulled and pushed and tossed in the current, until all he could do was feel instead of think.
When we finally emerged from the waves, bedraggled, exhausted, and happy, he fell into my lap and said “You always know what I need.”
And that was what I needed. A reminder that the passing of time will never take them away from me.
That I will always be home to them. Regardless of the season.
#LoveHard
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25 Comments
This is beautiful. My kids are grown now, but I cherished those summers, too. I loved no schedule- time to enjoy just hanging and not rushing, no homework. And no added stress. Now I am cherishing my playtime with my 3 year old granddaughter with a grandson coming in Oct. I cherish these same playful, joyful times with her.
Yes exactly! It’s great to think about having it all come around again as a grandparent!
Wait until you have to drop them off on a college campus….I miss my “baby” days. Great post and have a wonderful school year.
Ugh. I can’t even imagine! I have 8 years to go and I get panic attacks ?
What a lovely post; the end of summer hits me harder as my son turns into a kid and not just a toddler.
Thank you Rose! It gets so much harder the older they get, doesn’t it? ❤
Such a sweetheart!
Thank you Janice!
This post gave me chills. What a heartfelt and powerful anecdote. Thanks for the reminder to appreciate our lives. I think we need that more often than we get. Your kids are lucky to have such a conscious mama. Sharing this!
Oh thank you so much Keri! I think we’re lucky to have each other 🙂
Such a beautiful post! Tomorrow is my daughter’s FIRST first day of school, and so today- like you!- we are heading to the beach. I’ll carry this story with me as we go!
Thank you Jaymi! I hope you have an amazing time!
You write so beautifully! Wow what a beautiful description of a perfect day. I hope the next 8 summers are filled with glorious memories like this x
Thank you Rebecca! I feel like the best memories are the ones you don’t plan for 🙂
This is very nice. Mine are still so little that I feel that I still have so much time, but it’s true that it’s such a fleeting time!
I feel like the older they get, the faster it all goes. Hope you’ve had a good summer with them!
Oh I feel you mama, the years go by so fast. The love we show them now means we will be in their hearts and their lives forever.
Feel instead of think… this is what I try to do every single day. I loved this post (and I love your site!) I, too, mark the beginning of the year by the school year. I probably always will.
Sounds like a perfect day. My little guy is still a toddler so I’m just starting to feel the anxiety of fleeting time.
So beautiful! I’m so sad about summer’s end too, and can’t think about it too much.
I’ve been collecting quotes this week for a new blog post on this exact feeling. You’d be surprised at how universal it is through writing from every decade! Here’s my favorite that I bet you’ll appreciate: “It was still late summer elsewhere, but here, fall was coming; for the last three mornings, she’d been able to see her breath. The woods, which started twenty feet back from her back door like a solid wall, showed only hints of the impending autumn. A few leaves near the treetops had turned, but most were full and green. It was a transitional period, when the world changed its cycle and opened a window during which people might also change, if they had the inclination.”
I LOVE that Robin. I have to say – you are a great collector of quotes. The ones in your Soulmate post were amazing. I used to love thumbing through my Bartlett’s Book of Quotations when I was younger. I might have to go dig it up! xo
I love this post. I decided to take the summer off for the first time in ages and after graduating from college it’s exactly what I needed. You are right – summer is a time to laugh a little louder, talk a little longer, and all those other fun things, but you are even more right about the last line. No matter the season you will always be a family and that’s what’s important. Even as time passes. Fabulous post!
xo, Taylor || The Millennial Sprinkle (thesprinkle.tayloramead.com)
This is so beautiful. Being present with our children and helping them work through their emotions are the best gifts we can give them.
Love this! I too sort of dread the new school year, even while I’m looking forward to having more writing time. We spent our last weekend crashing in the waves too!