twas the week before school...

i have not had much experience with kids and summer vacations since my oldest is only entering grade 2, but here's what i remember about the last week before school last summer:

panic.  where is that newsletter with the supplies list?  will these runners count as indoor shoes and do they even fit after months of flip-flops?  what will the teacher be like!  how am i going to get out the door that early five days a week!

sibling explosions.  over everything, over nothing.  too much time together.  too much time with me.  too many outings ending in tantrums.  getting time outs while in time outs. 

basically any notions of the first day of grade 1 being emotional difficult were thrown out the door and i was ready to toss my child in the teachers arms and run for the hills.

how do you homeschoolers do it?!!!!

well, let me tell you my saving grace this week.  an angel came to stay at my little home in Saskatoon.  her name is Cori and i feel like she literally picked up the chaos that could have been this week, shook it around in her hands like a snow globe, and plopped it back down filled with humour, space, care, compassion, and friendship.  what a gift!  and here we are, wednesday night, with happy children tucked in their beds, time-out spaces growing cobwebs, and the feeling that i'm actually going to be a little verklempt when school starts next week.

now, i know that many of you have a week more of vacation than i do, so here's my recommendation.  phone a friend!  forget about the housework as much as possible and get through this week still in love with your kids :).  the work will get done when the school bell rings, but the last week of summer will be lost until next year. 

that said, i'm greatly looking forward to experiencing a prairie autumn.  i hear they're beautiful, and i have recollections of october in Ontario, with crisp evenings and colours ablaze and the smell of cold around the corner.  every september i get the urge to buy myself school supplies.  anyone else?  i want to sharpen pencils and feel the excitement of that first blank binder page, waiting in anticipation, devoid of mistakes.  am i a total geek or just sweetly nostalgic?

maybe i'll invest in one cahier just for kicks.  i could use it for grocery lists!

may back to school shopping not swallow you alive, and may you enjoy at least one more perfect summer evening - roast a marshmellow for me if you're able.