This summer, I have been reflecting a lot on motherhood, life, and time. The time we have with our children is so fleeting, yet the days are often long and tangled together with an enormous amount of expectation and hustle. I think this summer is an exhale, a chance to breathe out and say “ahh.”
I love a good Monday hustle like anyone, but a quiet afternoon with no appointments or deadlines has replaced it. I can’t say I am sad about it. This is our second year homeschooling our twins and the first year that my lessons with them have lingered into the summer, which left me with two choices before our big summer vacation: Push through the math and be done, or do what we can and wrap it up when we get home. We are now back home, and we still have math.
The Phrase “Those Were the Days” Has a New Meaning
This is our tenth summer with the twins, and I can say each one has been such a blessing. The head-tilted, sleeping babies in car seats have come and gone in our home. My kids carry their own beach toys these days and always have a blast at the lake or ocean.
This summer, I am reminded of what was and what is yet to be—all the big-kid stuff I hope their dad and I can keep up with: waterslides, jet skis, all of it. But I also remember the castles in the sand, the hats they refused to wear, the wagons they sat in on the way to the next adventure. Oh, how many adventures we’ve had. And still, we are in the midst of our greatest one.
I once heard or read a story about an older couple sitting on the sand. They were watching a family leaving the beach. Camping chairs, ice chest, crying toddlers in tow, football hold on another child. The older man says to the older woman, “Ah, those were the days.”
Notice he didn’t say, “I’m so glad that’s over,” or “Thank God our kids are grown.” Just “Ah, those were the days.”
That has stuck with me since and made its way deep into my soul. It reminds me that even in the moments I’m overstimulated in the store, grumpy about the messy house, or struggling with a math lesson with one of my children, that these are the days. These are the best moments I have had in my life, and someday I will look back and yearn for the messy, loud house.
A Summer to Remember
So, this summer I am taking all that in. Besides a baking camp, a soccer camp, and a new youth group, we have had many lazy moments, lots of screen time, lots of swims in the pool and the lake, and many tastes of summer, from cotton candy to s’mores, to corn on the cob and watermelon cut just right. It is all so yummy.
This summer we visited our home state of California. Maybe that trip instigated some reflection; I know I was nostalgic a couple of times. A few tears were shed between the hundreds of laughs, conversations and ah-ha moments we experienced with friends and family.
Returning to visit was wonderful—to jump right in and watch our children play as though no time had passed, even though it had been three years, was affirming that they are in fact lifelong friendships. Meeting new babies, and new family members who married in was great. A highlight for my heart was having seven of the cousins together all swimming, laughing, and floating down the irrigation canal (hey, no judging).
They had the best time together and so did their parents. We spent three weeks visiting and traveling, eating out, cooking with friends and resting. We saw oceans and rivers and got our feet wet in both. We grew a bit too. Even when things are sad or we wonder if we made right decisions, we must grow in faith that God guided us here for a reason, even if that reason is miles away from family and friends.
He blessed us with a Tennessee tribe we were happy to see and spend time with before the fall leaves arrived and everything tasted like pumpkin. Which is my favorite, by the way, but I am still lingering in my summer with our twins. We had a big trip to California, and now it’s lazy days and lake trips. Baking and soccer camp came and left and both kids grew, and mama did too as this summer is the first year they have been dropped off somewhere without me.
I loved seeing their face upon pick-up and hearing about what they got to experience this summer leading to junior high. I remember that age and I am excited to journey through it with them now. So here we are nearing the end of summer.I just want it to go slow. I want the rush of the school year and work life to be less stressful for all four of us. I hope we can enjoy the hot summer nights and cool off during the days.
Still to come before fall begins is camping in a tent, a drive-in movie, and a summer party for my husband’s work. But so is sun-kissed skin, Sunday cookouts after naps, lake time until the water cools and the excitement of junior high.
Ten summers we have been blessed with.
Why We Need to Soak Up Every Minute With Our Kids
I am not sure if it’s hormones, or time, or the fact that my homeschoolers have suddenly decided to return to junior high after our trip, but this mama is nostalgic.
Summer camps are done, youth group is a win. Summer vacation was amazing, and now I am preparing to drop my 11-year-olds off at junior high.
The start of the school year coincides with their birthday weekend, so we’re also saying goodbye to 10 and hello to 11. And isn’t that the number wishes are made on? So, I wish for more—more summers, more memories, more smiles, more hugs, more moments with the best parts of us. My husband and I, hand in hand and hearts united, will take this deep breath together.
We’ll enjoy the rest of this summer like no other. And we’ll remember, going into fall and starting a new school year, that these are the days.
I am a mom of twins who recently returned to working in finance. My husband and I relocated from California to Tennessee to buy land and build a barndominium. I love to read and write, and started by writing poetry. I am open to God's plan for my life these days.
