Special Time

Last night J13 and I saw The Avengers.  We saw it with his dad the weekend it came out.  Both of us wanted to see it again -- especially since I had heard something on NPR about making sure to sit through ALL the credits for a surprise at the end.  Which was, by the way, hilarious.

It's been awhile since I had some alone time with J13.  When D10 was first born and still napping (which only lasted for 18 MONTHS OF HIS LIFE) J and I had Special Time every day.   As soon as D was asleep J would say "special time!!" which usually meant we were going to play Thomas the Train.
Over the years, anytime just the two of us were together J would announce that it was "special time".

That phrase, like so many other things, has slipped away as both kids have gotten older.

J13 will become J14 in less then two weeks.  I'm alway caught off guard when I see another sign of maturity and growth.   About a month ago I was talking to him and stopped mid-sentence when I realized I was looking directly into his eyes instead of down into his eyes.  Honestly it freaked me out.  I actually said, "Dude,  I am looking into your eyes instead of down.  This is freaking me out. I can't deal with this."

For him going to the movies with me was not a big deal - just a nice thing to do on a summer evening.  I think I will always remember it, as ordinary as it was.  There were glimpses of the man he will become.  The humor and insight.  He's thinking and it's a wonderful thing to see.  At the same time I still see my little boy, tucked away in there, not quite ready to let go.  It's a wonderful middle ground and I'm cherishing every moment of it.

I'm realizing special time is not just those lucky moments I get to spend alone with each child, but that it is every moment, every day.

Saturday

I woke up at 5:45. Yeah, it's a little annoying, but it's becoming a habit.  I think I got up at 6:00.  Unfortunately for J13 it seems to be genetic -- this early rising.  He's been up since 6:30.   What's stupid is I get frustrated with him for not sleeping in.  I'm sure at some point the teen sleep thing is going to kick in.  I hope.  Actually what I hope is that it kicks in this summer and then magically disappears when school starts again.

Yes, I am already thinking about school starting.  

We're dog sitting my mother-in-law's giant poodle for a couple of weeks.   I just took the three dogs for a walk -- giant poodle, beagle, chihuahua.  The cat came along as well.  She was not pleased I was walking the poodle.  It looked like it was the last straw.  It's bad enough he's in her house -- now he's invaded her outside territory as well.

I somehow did absolutely nothing around this house yesterday -- which means nothing has been done for almost a week since I was traveling and then came home to the end of school activities.

I have way to many plans today.  I want to work in the yard, do all the laundry (not actually possible in one day), clean the house,  cook, go to the pool, nap, read.  Yeah,  I think I'll probably manage the last few items on that list and not the first few....

I'm also intending to sit down and make a very detailed list of what my kids are going to do this summer -- chores, etc.  OK, just chores.  I've already heard these words out of J13's mouth "summer vacation is so boring"  and that was 10 hours after he finished his last final.

So lots to do today.  But most likely I will just do not much of anything except enjoy the idea of an entire summer ahead of us.

Summer Summer Summer

It's really here. Finally.  J13 finishes school at 10:00 this morning -- his last final.  D10 (ok, just for a second there I forgot how old my youngest is) has his class party today and then award ceremonies in the morning and we are finished!

I thought third and seventh grade were going to be the end of me.  Third grade at our school is really intense -- lots of field trips, projects, etc.  Seventh grade has been a challenge for J13 but he really has done well.    Middle school is some sort of special hell and we all went through it.  As a serious, intense, non-athletic kid it was not easy.  Let's just say the alpha mails took a few runs at him.  But he's still standing.  I'm proud of him.

I'm just home from a three day business trip to California and am really looking forward to the holiday weekend. I am back to teaching yoga two or three times a week but I'm on a bit of a break until the following weekend.  With no yoga classes happening and homework finished for the year it feels like someone has added a couple of hours to every day.  I'm pretty sure I'll figure out a way to waste it.  It's summer.  Isn't that what we're supposed to do?