Why is it that as soon as I am a paragraph or so into sharing life with you my computer decides to shut down and “configure new updates” without so much as a warning? That pretty much sums up the way things have been going lately. Hmmmm…anyway back to where I was before this crazy machine interrupted me…

Happy Summer! Hard to believe it’s halfway over (at least in our house.) That depresses me because I feel like we’ve only just begun. June was a total write off for us. Our calendar was packed! Every single day had something planned or scheduled. Many days (which begin at 6 am) had multiple commitments. I am not complaining because we have also had our share of fun! Our family motto this summer has become “Embrace the Crazy!” This is why it’s been 3 weeks since I have been here, clicking away at the keyboard. (This is also why, dear neighbors, my flowerbeds that were once well tended and cared for have become littered with weeds popping up between the blooms. I will get right on that as soon as I am done here…)

I have this incredible, romanticized idea of what summer is supposed to look like. My “Country-Time Lemonade summer.” It’s all early-morning coffee on the back porch and lazy picnic basket afternoons at the lake or the pool. A tire swing hung from a massive tree for playing. Evenings spent around the campfire roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. The house always full, a revolving door of kids and friends. Ahh, summer.

It’s a nice picture but it’s not real life. Last night we made a fire and it rained. (Weather forecaster fail.) This morning the mosquitos about drove us off the back porch to drink our coffee indoors before launching into the day. We have managed the pool and beach a few times and there always seems to be a house and car full of kids which I absolutely love but our days are anything but lazy. This hectic, frenzied pace is what summer looks like this year and I am learning to adapt. (It’s either that or have it run me over.)

Right now, I want to strip the heavy coat of seriousness that I sometimes feel like I have boxed myself into, especially here, and share the lighter side of life for awhile. The “serious me” has mush for brain right now anyway and would struggle to put together a deeply thought out serious post because quite frankly friends (we’re all friends here, right?) it’s also been a tough three weeks. We have had to deal head on with some scary things that have been beyond the scope of my experience as a mother and caused me to stretch my faith in a major way. (But I am not going there today, like I said, mushy brain couldn’t muddle through that. It’s kind of like when you are waiting for something to load on your phone or computer and the little circle icon is spinning and spinning and you begin to wonder if it’s even doing anything or if it’s frozen up so you hit the refresh button and it starts all over again from the beginning and you lost any progress you had made. Maybe that’s just me and my impatience. At any rate, I digress…)

I used to have it all together (or at least it felt that way) but somewhere along the way this summer I became one of “those” people. You know, the kind that drops their kid off at piano lessons a half hour early because they were sure that was the right time? I am not saying that that happened yesterday or anything. (But if it had, in defense of “that” person, summer lessons had a new time and it had been three weeks since the last lesson and come on, that earlier time would be so much more convenient.) Embrace The Crazy!

This is summer in all of its chaotic glory. Not without problems but taken with a good dose of laughter. This is me…taxi driver, therapist, lifeguard, failed schedule-manager…a mom who looks at her growing kids and wonders where time has gone. (Our first year of high school and last year of elementary are on the horizon in just a few short weeks!)  A mom who looks at her kids and sees such amazing young people who are teaching me so much.

I really wish I had some great words of wisdom for you, something wise and thought-provoking and uber spiritual. But all I can offer today in the way of spirit-nourishment is “Embrace The Crazy!” It’s my summer version of eat dessert first. Go out and make some memories, laugh and have some fun. The weeds in your flowerbed can wait until tomorrow.  (Unfortunately mine have had too many tomorrows so I must go tackle that project…)