Summer - just out of reach

Summer – it’s here. Or at least it’s right outside my front door. It’s my favorite season, the heat, the pool, the long days and warm nights. So why do I feel like it is passing me by?

Because I have two young kids and the logistics of tending to them takes up the majority of my day.  Also, naps. One is either just waking up or just falling asleep all day long.  

You’d think with the longer days, there would be a chance to enjoy the weather during the weeknights, right? Not a chance. I have two very tightly packed hours in which I have to cook dinner, shove food in everyone’s face, clean up, and start bedtime routine. Just because the daylight lingers past 9:30pm doesn’t change the fact that bedtime for the baby is 7:30. 

There are those few and fleeting moments I relish, soaking in the warmth and freedom that summer allows: Taking the trash out to the street, barefoot; The extra 20 minutes I save each morning by not having to bundle each child and scrape snow/ice off the car; the long rays of sunshine that filter through the trees once everyone is in bed and I get a minute to sit down. 

This weekend I’m going to TRY and take the girls to the pool. Lathering sunscreen on two wiggly, excited, pasty-white girls, making sure you don’t miss a spot, might be more difficult than bundling them up in their snow gear.  By the time I have them sufficiently protected from all the UV rays, gathered the towels, snacks, back up diapers and toys, it inevitably starts raining. 

I know summer just started. I keep telling myself there will be time to enjoy it, but then I remember we are in the middle of selling our house and have a move in our near future….

Dear Maggie

You are growing too fast. How in the world are you seven months already? You are growing like a weed. At your 6 month appointment the pediatrician said you were in the 98^th percentile in height. What the what? We’ve started calling you Big Baby, affectionately of course. 

The other night you weren’t sleeping well (I didn’t know it then but you were developing a nasty case of pink eye). I pulled you from your crib to rock you back to sleep. I am always conflicted when I pull you out of your crib. I want you to develop good sleep habits, but selfishly I just want to rock you all night long. That night I did pull you out and settle into the worn rocking chair. It took a couple readjustments, but your head finally found comfort on my chest. Oh sweet girl, how I love those moments. 

As I rocked with you quietly in the dark, I was grateful for that chair. It has seen many long nights. It was your Aunt Jenna’s chair that she graciously handed down to me when Caroline was on her way. Your cousins helped soften that chair. So much so, we had to add another cushion to the seat. I rocked some more, reflecting on how lucky I am to be able to hold you close. 

You are such a good baby. Everyone always comments on your generous smiles. The best smiles are when your get so excited that your eyes almost disappear. You bring such joy that I can begrudgingly forgive you for not sleeping through the night. I’ll gladly sacrifice an hour of sleep for a midnight expression of joy. 

Caroline has taken to you in the most amusing way. One particular example was when you fell asleep in the car. I lugged the entire seat to our final destination so as not to wake you. I have no idea how long you were awake, but when your sister noticed, she announced it with FANFARE. 

“MAGGIE’S AWAKE” she exclaimed waving her hands in the direction of the car seat. She continued repeating it until every adult took notice.

I spend too much of my day worried that it is all happening too fast and it is too good to be true. Like your Bubby once said to me, promise me you’ll never grow up!

You can start sleeping for an 8-10 hour stretch though. I’d be ok with that…

Love, Your momma