Someone told me I had been a lazy blogger this summer.  It’s true.  I can’t even manage to post pictures on a regular basis.  I’ve been in a funk not feeling like it was a real summer, upset because we didn’t take a vacation with the kids and now the inevitable…school.  And I feel like I can’t complain because Lance has his new show and well, that takes priority over the same old complaints about school and how much I hate it.

Summer is indeed coming to a close, and despite lacking that “it was a great summer” feeling, I can say I had a great time with the kids.  I love spending time with them.  Sure, there are days where my patience is pushed to the limit, where I wonder if the kids will ever get manners, but overall time spent with my kids can’t be replaced.  And reality has set in, time passes too quickly.  In the blink of an eye, the kids have grown more, had another birthday, are doing more things…I know this and because of this, I literally feel a loss as each day goes by.  (Clearly, I need to work on that and just appreciate each day, rather than mourn its loss.)

Knowing that school was starting soon, I made an effort to fill our days with fun each day over the last few weeks.  The kids have gone to the movies, swam for hours on end, jumped at Sky Zone and gone bowling.  Bowling is our new favorite activity. We’ve baked, we’ve read, we’ve played games, we’ve gone to daily mass, seen Aunt Mary and enjoyed ice cream and snoballs.  Not a bad way to spend time together.

We were a family every second of this summer.  More often than not, it’s just me and the little kids.  And we know how to enjoy our time together.

As a parent, my main priority is to love.  More than anything else, it’s my job to make sure my children feel loved and know how to love.  I pray I’ve done a good job with that.  We took time to be together.  I had more kids snuggling in bed with me than I ever thought I would.  And you know what?  It’s pretty damn nice.  To be the center of someone’s world is not a bad thing.

As summer comes to a close and we start a new routine, one which hopefully doesn’t involve me raising my voice too much in the mornings, I’m grateful for each second I spent with my kids.  The reading, the late nights, the snuggles, the bowling, the pool, the diving board, buying new books, Shady Grove…it all made for time well spent