A Little Slice of Heaven

How do they do it? I read a handful of blogs (yes, I fell off the wagon, thanks to Google Reader) and the writers post pithy, erudite missives every single day. For my part, it's becoming harder and harder to find the time to post meaningless drivel, let alone anything worth spending four minutes of your life reading. I have wondered if I shouldn't just pull the plug on my blog and liberate myself from the weight of the guilt I feel when another day goes by and the creative juices fail to circulate.

Randy encourages me to write what I want, when I want, and the truth is there have been oh-so-many times that I have wanted nothing more than to shirk every last one of my parental responsibilities for the opportunity to tickle the keys of my little blue laptop. But as life gets busier and the demands on my time increase, I find that updating my blog is, by necessity, being relegated to the pile of "Things to Do When I Get the Chance."

That pile is likely to get a lot bigger too, now that the kids are out of school for the summer. THE KIDS ARE OUT OF SCHOOL FOR THE SUMMER! Hallelujah and the saints be praised! I have waited for this day ever since January 3 of this year when Tyler and Darcy (and Peyton soon after) deserted me and threw in their lot with Pantego Christian Academy. Oh, I tease, of course. They didn't really desert me so much as go to a formalized institution of learning that I insisted they try out when we moved to Texas. A minor but significant distinction, I suppose.

Truth be told, I spent untold hours wailing, praying and crying out to God about what I'd done. And though God and I have come to an understanding (a little lesson about Who's in control was in order), I still longed for a return to "normal" which would entail the following:

1. Eat breakfast--together.
2. Complete morning studies--together.
3. Eat lunch--together. (Do you see a pattern developing?)
4. Finish afternoon studies--playtime! TOGETHER.

And for the last four days, the above schedule is what we have adhered to; well, except for the morning and afternoon studies. I made a conscious decision that if they didn't get another lazy week all summer, the kids' FIRST week of summer vacation was going to be chock-full of sleeping in, eating at a leisurely pace rather than with one eye on the clock, playing games and staying up late without being admonished, "Do you know how tired you're going to be in the morning??"

Yesterday I felt like I was stepping back in time, and the feeling was so overpowering that I had to retreat to my bedroom and weep privately. All four kids were clustered around the kitchen table with Play-Doh containers scattered on the tabletop, and in the background the Star Wars Episode I soundtrack was blasting. Tyler and Sawyer--hummed? sang?--belted out all the notes right along with the soundtrack and there was such pure, unadulterated joy in Tyler's voice . . . joy that I haven't heard in five months. Oh, how I have missed these kids!