It’s Like the Song that Never Ends . . . Only It’s Just Life as Usual

“Adulthood is saying, “After this week, things will slow down a bit.” over and over again until you die.”

Y’all this is my life. I thought summer would mean a slower pace, but there has been nothing slow about this summer. It has turned out to be the complete opposite. And now we’re staring down the last few weeks of this crazy busy summer, and I think . . . possibly . . . maybe . . . I’m coming to terms with the reality that having two kids, with (almost) six years and six grade levels separating them, means we’re going to be running in 12 different directions most days.

Things are not going to slow down . . . not next week . . . not next month . . . not next year . . . I’ve realized that I may as well stop fighting it and just accept it.

That’s it.

That’s life for the foreseeable future.

And then there’s the fact that when we are home, my youngest talks endlessly all day long. There are 1440 minutes a day and she asks approximately 850 questions a day . . . she does have to eat and sleep sometime. My kids are both talkers, but teenagers as a rule, tend to be a bit quieter. However, whatever my oldest doesn’t say (and he says a lot . . . especially about basketball), my youngest more than makes up for. So basically, I’m a very busy introvert (and we all know how well that works out) whose life is never going to slow down and whose ears are so incredibly tired.

I’ll confess, you can think I’m awful and judge me all you want, but I am looking forward to the glorious silence that comes with both of my kids being back in school. Because as much as I love their precious faces and never-ending chatter, my introverted self needs some peace and quiet. And also, there’s a good chance that when we get to the actual last few days of summer, you’ll find me mourning the end of the insanity and wishing that I could drag it out just a couple more weeks. I’m complicated that way.

Last year, around back to school time, another mom that I follow on social media (and I honestly, cannot remember which one), wrote a scathing post about how awful moms who celebrate their kids going back to school are, and although, it should not have mattered to me in the least what this person, whom I’ve never met in real life and can’t even remember, thinks I was so bothered by it. The author of the post may not have stuck with me, but by golly, the message did. I mean talk about passing judgment on something that absolutely doesn’t matter . . . I think judging other moms because they’re happy about the first day of school tops the list. We’re all different. We all have different personalities and needs . . . we all lead and live different lives . . . if you want your kids with you 24/7 then more power to you. If you need a break every now and again and cannot wait for that first glorious day of school, that’s cool too. And if you’re like me and want your kids to stay home forever because you love their crazy selves so stinkin’ much but also cannot wait for them to go back to school so you can drink your coffee in total and complete silence, well, I got nothing . . . there’s no logic when it comes to motherhood because these sweet, precious children suck it all out of us. But I’ll promise you this, however you feel, I’m here for it.