I sit here thinking about the end of summer and even though it wasn’t the summer I envisioned I am still sad to see it come to an end. This summer we learned how to slow down and the importance of family.  My daughter learned to love her little brother and see him as a friend not just the baby that it too little to play with her. This summer we walked all around our neighborhood find hidden treasures in our neighbors’ yards. This was the summer of pajamas all day and staying up late. This was the summer my daughter truly developed her love of bugs and I quickly learned so many facts about roly-polies.  This is the summer we found excitement and joy in the little things, family lunches and weekday snuggles. This is the summer that we truly understood what we mean to each other, and yes it wasn’t the summer I wanted or anyone probably wanted I am still sad to see it end. I thrive on following a schedule, but I love having a couple months where we don’t follow a schedule and our days a driven by the fantasies and ideas of a toddler and her sidekick brother.

In a couple weeks we will start our daily routine and school. My daughter is ready to see her teachers and friends.  She is disappointed she will have to go to school at home and I am worried about how to keep her focused and her younger brother engaged while she is supposed to be at school.  My daughter is a complete angel at school, and though most of the time she listens well at home home is different. My mind is racing with all the unknowns. Will she listen to a teacher she has never met? She is reserved and shy when you first meet her, how will she connect to a new teacher?  I was a teacher and my heart goes out to all the teachers out there. How will this teacher be able to connect to her students over a screen? How will she build a sense of community from such a distance? How will this all work?  Luckily for me my daughter is in preschool and so the stakes are not as high as they would be if this was happening a couple years from now, but this still keeps me up at night.

So tonight I sit here and realize it is time to say goodbye to this very different summer and try and embrace what lies ahead.