Back to School? What?

This bus rode by me last week as I took in the view and sipped on my very much needed cup of cafe.  Thats when I felt that back to School hit me like a wrecking ball, and not in a glamorous way.  Where did time go? I was looking forward to summer to wind down a bit even though I had gone back to work. At least I would go back to being fun Mom. You know, the one that isn't always asking my son "Did you do your homework? Do you have homework? Do you have a test? Have you read today?

Summer arrived and although I feel like I was robbed of, at the very least, another month of having my son at home, I can't say that the time we did spend together, was wasted.  For my house, summer isn't about going to a sleep away camp and getting picked up at the end of summer as some movies portray it.  We don't have a beach or lake house that we pick up and leave for the summer, or go sailing around the Caribbean.  Our summers are made of beach afternoons, fridays at the pool for swimming lessons, play dates,  dinner with friends, chores, work with Mom days, and last but not least volunteer work.

In between all of this, I was able to hold valuable conversations with my son that I only hope he will  remember one day.  Like I remember the ones I had with my Mom.  Summer meant teaching lessons about hygiene, responsibility, and organization. It also gave me some time to empty out his entire closet and give it away, including shoes since he's going thru growth cycles that both his clothes and my pocket are having a difficult time keeping up with!  It was about balance. Play and work, while teaching and still learning over summer.  Although I didn't want to, I did find myself asking have you read?  Did you do your summer packet?  Go rake those leaves! Take the garbage out. 

In between those discipline moments, fun summer waves, and laughs in the car while listening to some of the coolest music a 12 years old can pick for his Mom to listen to in the car, I saw glimpses of who my little adult is turning out to be.  He took on some responsability without being asked in his volunteer service. Woke up early, got ready on time, prepared lunch for us, and finished his summer reading book three weeks before it was due! He's growing, physically and maturing as a young adult. And as I thought about how proud I suddenly felt of my kid, I realized that, this would bring about something that is inevitably happening quicker than I want. Just like summer ended and school began, my boy is growing all too fast.