Stream of consciousness ahead!
Because my brain feels a little like mush right now, and stream of consciousness is all I've got.
And also because this is my blog and I will do stream of consciousness if I feel like it. 😉
There's only a week and a half until school starts.
Which basically signals the end of summer for me, even though, yes, summer technically extends through part of September.
I know we are super lucky to not already be in school...a lot of people have been back for a while.
But hey, one of my prerogatives as a homeschool mom is getting to choose when we start school.
And I have a thing about not doing school in August.
AUGUST IS STILL SUMMER, PEOPLE.
So we don't crack our books open until September.
Though Joshua and Lisey will of course be starting their college classes before then.
I haven't figure out how to control college schedules yet. Hmmm.
I have a kind of bad summer bucket list report to write.
I have done right around zero of the productive things on my list, so unless I have some sort of miraculous burst of productivity next week, there are going to be a lot of un-crossed-off-things in my report.
On the other hand, I have done some fun things that weren't even on my list. So there's that....
I really only have two kids to homeschool this year.
Lisey's work is about 80% at the college now, and of course Joshua is long graduated from homeschool.
So that basically leaves just Sonia and Zoe, which isn't much compared to when I had four kids all homeschooling at the same time.
Two feels awfully manageable, especially since they're in 8th and 9th grade this year and can do a lot of work all on their own.
I'm looking forward to fall.
I don't love winter weather or the darkness of winter days, but I do always enjoy the change of season that happens in September...the drier air, the breeze, the tinge of chill in the evenings.
So, I'm just going to enjoy all the loveliness of fall and try not to think about what follows!
<focuses on cozy sweaters and roasting marshmallows>
But I'm not going to rush it.
Here's to squeezing every last drop out of summer! There are still 90 degree days in the forecast, so we're going to enjoy that while we can.
Swim while the sun shines, I say. Because in the cold days of January, you never find yourself thinking, "Wow, I wish I hadn't made so many trips to the pool in August."
___________
School started here August 10th! Most colleges started Monday- my nephew left last weekend. Once Labor Day arrives, I'm in holiday mode- Halloween, Thanksgiving, 2 November birthdays and Christmas YAY. This is my favorite time of year. I didn't make a summer bucket list but I did get a few things done- no vacation though except a trip to Myrtle Beach Memorial Day weekend for a graduation. It appears my son is having a destination wedding next summer so I have that to plan for- just need date and place!
Our school squeezes in two days before Labor Day, but otherwise I am totally with you. It is still summer! I had people at the end of July making comments to my kids about school coming up, and my older daughter (she’s 7) started having panic attacks. So we looked at the calendar and had a long talk about how we decide when we get ready for the next thing. We don’t allow other people, magazines, and retail stores decide for us. It’s about being present to now.
We've been in school a week already! Back to school means the end of summer, definitely, even if it's still 90 degrees out (heck, we've had Halloweens where it's been 87 degrees. Of course, we've also had Halloweens where we froze our butts off and everyone had a massive coat on over their costumes, sooooooooo...). I'm full-on in the mindset of packing lunches and dealing with signing ALL THE FORMS.
I completed most of what I set out to do this summer (the other two things are waiting for my husband to complete his work so I can complete mine, so it's not my fault), so I'm happy. I'm ready for fall, and for winter. I love the crisp fall weather, the blustery days, I can't wait until it starts getting dark earlier- I know I'm weird in this, but there's something so cozy about cold weather, having a huge pot of soup on the stove and bread baking in the oven, curling up in my oversized chair with my daughter, a blanket, and a stack of library books... If you can't change the weather, enjoy what you can about the circumstances. 🙂
Summer is not really a break for me, with grown kids (so no school break), but it is still definitely summer here -- it was 94 degrees on my way home from work yesterday. We will be hot until about mid-October, unless we get very, very unusual weather in September. September is also a prime hurricane time around here. Praying for those staring at an approaching one in the islands.
Um, my bucket list is going to be like yours, Kristen -- not a lot of cross offs. We did a couple of things we didn't plan, and I did almost nothing I DID plan, so I guess that's how it goes.
I always look forward to fall, and always have, even when I lived in the very upper south and knew it meant cold was coming. I hate getting up in the dark to get ready for work, which is already starting to happen, but I will be compensated by less humidity, cooler weather, holidays, and this year, grandchild #4, which will make this fall a very happy one.
The law in Michigan is starting school after Labor Day to promote last minute summer spending. Schools can apply for a waiver and start in the summer... I live in a tourist town so that won't happen here.
I try to stay in summer mode until the first snow but I do put the shorts away! 😉 Speaking of which, did anybody else ever notice that no matter how cold it gets it or how much snow is on the ground, you can always spot a guy in shorts? (And I'm not talking about gym shorts.) We have a running family joke about *shorts guy* (play the game this winter and see if you can spot one every time you go somewhere.
Yes! They are everywhere! My four year old will be one of them some day. Haha! He likes to be "bare belly, with shorts" as much as possible.
Yup. A heavyset guy in those long basketball shorts will always be out when it's snowing. Some people never learn to dress themselves I guess.
Well.... As a "heavyset" person myself, let me tell you, I don't get cold easily. I wear short sleeves (and by that I mean : tank tops!) year round. And where I live (Quebec, Canada) it gets cold!! Really cold! I do get the odd looks but though luck, I'm hot, that's the end of it! So maybe he IS actually dressing himself accordingly to his body temperature, aha!!
Lol my oldest son wears shorts year round. He just prefers them to jeans but if he is going out he always dresses up with pants not shorts. I will say after menopause I wear shorts 90% of the time too and hardly ever use my heavy winter coats either. Can you say Hot Hot Hot!
My brothers always did that when I was growing up too. You rarely saw them in long pants even in the dead of winter!
My 18 year old son is one of those people!
Summer feels definitely over for us. Not that we have children to really meter that but from a rental property perspective summer was the best time. The next week we are looking at nice comfy fall mid 60s 🙂
Whoa! You must live a lot further north than I do.
I feel like this summer has been a wasted one for me. We had a huge period of nothing but rain (my poor sump pump is working OT this year) so I haven't been able to play outside with my daughter as much as I would've liked to. I've also had to work a lot and didn't take the time off that I'd like to.
I did take a sick day this week (for a migraine but it ended up being more a mental health day) and I realized that I need to schedule some more days like that.
At least it's fair time so that's always fun.
It kind of feels like perpetual summer to us here, even though the kids have started school. So much sun and warmth for us northern transplants. Plus, with the four-day school week, we can still have family adventures on Fridays. We're planning on going to a beach tomorrow, actually. I hope there's actually water in the lake. Never a given here in the dry west.
It will be so interesting to see how you feel about the warmer weather year round!
My high school kids started school this Tuesday. My son returns to college on Saturday for Monday classes. I would like to shift the start to after labor day, but I read an article that the early start is due to standardized testing and trying to get as much instruction in before the testing hits as possible. I think northeastern colleges tend to start later.
I love the earlier start! I don't know many kids who aren't ready for school to begin way before Labor Day or the opposite end of the spectrum, for it to end in May. By starting early, we are finished before Memorial Day.
My youngest begins his second year of college on Monday and since it is 100 plus here (for the last 45 days in a row) it feels like The Summer from Hell. So fall is a concept I can't quite remember. I am super happy I do not have school age kids - I do not envy those parents who are juggling getting the kids up, after school activities, homework, and schedules right now. God Bless them and pour the wine.
Still feeling the summer vibe, but fall is my favorite time of year so I won't be too upset once it actually comes. I've actually made the most of this past summer unlike many years past where it was wasted on sitting inside watching TV and other unproductive things :/
Yay for using your summer in ways that make you feel good!
This is exactly how I'm feeling today! I feel summer winding down. I got a lot done on my dissertation, but I guess you never really get Enough done until you are walking across the stage.
I'm on the other end of the school spectrum. Our oldest is starting third grade in two weeks (thank goodness we start in September--August is just too early). I'm pregnant with our fourth, and I was just thinking that we will only have nine years together as a family of six before the oldest is off to college. Nine years is nothing! It must feel like it is zooming by to you all.
School is starting next Wednesday for us, and I am also changing job schedule at the beginning of September, so for me Summer Is Over. Bouhhhhhhh!!!
I don't want to!! (stumping my feet!)
That said, I like September, a new school year, fresher weather. It feels like a new beginning every year.
We have had a really mild summer in DC, so I'm really sad to see summer go. The end of Aug also signals the end of summer to me too. Maybe I'm still in the school mindset. Basically, when it gets chili outside, it means fall is here. We're having a couple of summer picnics lined up though, so I'm super excited for that! 😀
As a teacher, I went back to school on August 6, earlier each year, so I’m all for starting school in September. I live in South Florida, so it’s basically hot or really hot. We usually get “winter” in December and/or January when cold fronts come through. They bring rain and then cooler temps. It can go down into the 40s at night and barely reach into the 70s during the day. I’m from Connecticut originally, and I know cold weather, but after 20 years in Florida, the 70s felt chilly to me! We’re usually in the mid-80s to mid-90s. I miss Fall and even snow sometimes.
Susan,
I hear you. I live in northwest Florida. I've seen snow (extremely light dusting) 3-4 times, and my daughter videoed it coming down in big flakes in her own NW Florida yard last winter. Our yard just got the ice coating that day.
I miss Fall, too. We have one week of a few colored leaves here, then Fall is over, or so it seems.
And yeah, 65 is chilly to me now.
All the kids are back in school here, which makes me sad. All the families are cramming their vacations into June and July, which raises crowds and prices, yuck. I feel sorry for the kids. Learning how to manage your time during the long, hot summer break was a special part of being a kid. I also think that having longer holiday breaks puts more pressure on families to "do something" then, too. How many families with young children can afford multiple vacations?
I still feel like it's summer! My husband is a high school volleyball coach and they've already had some matches, but I'm still in denial about fall coming. I should be hitting some yard sales for winter clothes for my sweet little baby, but I just find it hard to believe that I'll have to bundle her up soon. Denial. Also because I want her to stay in her 3 month clothes because babies grow too fast and I want her to stay little longer. 🙂
In Canada, we start school in September so keep enjoying the summer!
I wouldn't be too upset with what you didn't get done on the bucket list, especially if you made time to just have some fun.
The weather this year on the East Coast has been abysmal with heat and humidity, not exactly conducive to physical or even much mental activity for so many days.
Personally, living in a big city with in-window AC in only one room, I really hate summer. Heat seeps in and just hangs around the rooms even though we have great Vornado fans going. The kitchen is small and the hottest room in the apartment to the point of literally being so hot you can't be in there except maybe to extract food from the refrigerator and then nuke it in the microwave.
Who can be concerned about bucket lists when it's too hot too cook almost a whole day and just the thought of cooking can make you ill contemplating time in the kitchen (where no fan can be used at all because it would literally make a mess. The kitchen itself is an oven.)
One of the best things about the east coast is the fall. Although it seems to start later and the leaves don't reach great color anymore (last year) given the change in climate. Who knows what leaf peeping season will be like this fall after the heat of this summer (it was never so hot, so many days in a row, that any of us can remember. Not so much super high temps but high enough temps plus humidity equal some mighty uncomfortable days.
Summer can't be over soon enough in terms of the temps.
I long for cool breezes ruffling the leaves on the trees. I'd kill to have it in the high 50s or 60s, which I call San Francisco weather, most days of the fall...and the rest of the year.
Fall can't come soon enough. Up here, we get a few cooler days that are fall like to tempt us, but we never get COLD weather (50s to you Florida folks) until the World Series is played out. Given how warm it has been this year, it probably won't get cool till Thanksgiving.
And they say there is no global warming. Local meteorologists: Hottest July and August since they started keeping records.
Enough already. Bring on the fall!
I live in Coastal Georgia and our kids started school on 8/06, teachers worked the week before. This is our third week of school already! School started in the South when I was a kid the day after Labor Day and finished up the third week in June. This makes far more sense to me due to the fact that June is much cooler here than August and September is cooler too.
It is in the 90's here until October generally. Yikes!!!
Our son took community college classes here in our town in NC and there is NO COST to high school students. Even their books are free. Ds also took AP courses, so when he graduated from high school, he went back to the same community college for one year. We just dropped him off at UNC last week where he transferred in as a Jr.
The cost of his first two years of college? Less than $1000 for books and access codes!!!! I can't believe more kids don't do this.
I wish it was free here! But hey, at least 50% off is something.
I nearly drooled hearing you talk about winter. I'm a winter/fall person for sure. And of course, Texas is 90% summer all the time. 🙂 I'm looking forward to cooler days, for sure! There's something naturally exciting about fall, isn't there?
I can't believe it's almost September, to be honest. If our debt payoff schedule holds out, I'll be working for myself in just under two months. How nuts is that??? 🙂
Woohoo! That's even better than fall weather, I'd say.
I'm in denial that summer is almost over and school is very close to starting.
With my oldest starting grade two and my son doing kindergarten (he's too young to enroll, but wants to start anyhow), I'm just at the beginning of our schooling journey. We're homeschooling for now and will take it a year at a time.
I've barely looked at our curriculum and I'm first up to teach at our co-op, so I need to move on that one!
I could really use another month of summer.
It' COLD where I live ( we are in the tail end of winter) and I had a roof guy come out today and he was in short shorts, like little blue shorts and all I could think was Aren't you cold?!
Summer is my favorite but it has rained for almost a month straight here. So my outdoor to do list hasn’t gotten done and I feel robbed of the sunny lazy dYs at the pool that I love. We homeschool and kind of do it year round, although summer is super laid back. We are enjoying this week at our local fair. Our son’s 4-H group runs the petting zoo and rabbit tent. They provide educational activities and presentations for the kids and a chance to pet farm animals. So this is super fun and counts as school.