The Dog Days of Summer

What a summer its been. Since our Memorial Day camping trip we've been on one adventure after another. With trips to Lake Tippy in early June for Papa's birthday, and again for a week over the 4th of July, and our first ever all family (23 people!) beach vacation to Hilton Head, we are spent. The dog days of summer are upon us, and we're actually welcoming a few long boring days where we may or may not go swimming, we probably will eat a lot of popsicles, and we most certainly will lament the ever nearing first day of school.

It's been a difficult summer in some ways with tighter budgets from our wonderful family travels, as well as, new and unexpected medical expenses. Worries about money can overwhelm any couple, and cast a shadow on otherwise sunny days. When I look back on this summer, though, I know its not the counting of pennies and often unbalanced checkbooks that I'll remember , but the many "firsts" that I witnessed my children experiencing. I saw them become little fish in the pool this summer, both earning their ankle bands by swimming the length of the pool unassisted. They had their first real beach experience together with their cousins, building sandcastles and digging holes, and "fighting waves" as Ian described his adventures in the ocean. They collected shells, and starfish and sand dollars. They brought back two hermit crabs, Spidey and Hermey, who are still with us two weeks out! Julia went to Girl Scout camp and learned a whole slew of new songs we've had the "pleasure" of hearing for the past six weeks. I'll remember the lemonade stand they had on the day the new Harry Potter book came out, and how they were waving the wands they'd made at the library and wearing their Potter eyeglasses while they served customers. I won't look back and regret the hours I could have spent working or earning more money, I'll think about how lucky I was to spend those incredible hours and days creating memories with my children.

But most of all I'll remember that it was the summer I grew round like a ball carrying the newest member of our family inside me, eagerly awaiting his or her arrival this December when all the thoughts of summer have blown away with the leaves of fall.