As the longest day of the year comes to a close, I find myself again wanting to slow down summer, to capture the moments that get lost in the haze of our busy schedule, and to make time pause - just long enough to appreciate the stuff of life.
Since returning from California, I've watched my firstborn son celebrate the end of his middle school years - and while he stands on the cusp of high school, it seems as though it was just a short time ago that he was an infant in my arms.
I've watched my daughter successfully complete 7th grade and see her becoming her own person - with her own ideas, interests, friends and more.
We attended the wedding of one of our former babysitters. When we lived here before, she was a sophomore in high school and a wonderful sitter. Now she's grown up, graduated from college and married to a wonderful young man. She was a beautiful bride -glowing, excited and eager to begin the next phase of her life.
Her mother collected antique compotes in the time leading up to the wedding, and used those as the base for each of the centerpieces on the dinner tables. The flowers were spectacular and were interspersed with limes, green apples and green grapes. Each compote had a tag attached to the base with a name on it, indicating who was to receive it at the end of the evening.
Today I picked up my youngest who attended a 4 day/3 night camp. Again I was reminded of how quickly time flies. When I arrived at the closing ceremonies for the camp, it was evident that he was comfortable, happy and tired. Although as a third child, he's never had a lot of separation anxiety - I was still surprised at how eager he was to go. In fact, the only concern he expressed at all, was concern that he might not be able to go when we were having trouble getting his health form completed in time.
I missed him - and each day that he was gone was a strong reminder of how incomplete our family feels when any one person is missing. It also reminded me that this time when our little family of five is together is finite - and that it will be all too soon that high school will give way to college and beyond, and the circle of our family will widen and change. And while that is all good and the way it should be, it does give me pause, and and a little bit of heartache. There were times when all three children were five years old and younger, and John was deployed -that I so wished time would go by faster. Now - I take it back. Even when we're dealing with teenage opposition, preteen angst and elementary school battles, I want to live in the moment and try to remember not to wish it away. It does make me think - that even today, on the longest day of the year, time is relentlessly moving on.
I resolve to spend the rest of our summer days enjoying the moments that get lost in the shuffle - the water balloon fights, fishing along the creek, cuddling with the dog, pancakes in the morning, freeze pops, wet swimsuits, soggy towels, lost swim goggles, flip-flops, the smell of sunscreen, the flicker of lightning bugs, sibling battles, "I'm bored", car trips, naps, paperback books, hot dogs on the grill, corn on the cob, homemade ice cream, and laughter.
How lucky are we to have these moments to remember!