summer, last call

We had a pretty spectacular end to summer. As it wrapped up, and we followed our well-grooved path, I realized how many traditions we have incorporated into the rhythm of transitioning from the end of summer to the start of school.

(Here comes a trip down memory lane.)

First up, drop uncomfortable amounts of money on school shopping. Assist one child who wears only athletic pants, t-shirts and hoodies and is done within an hour and then drag her around like a punishment with her fashionista sister who has grown so much in the past six months that she needs new EVERYTHING. Go to every single store in a 20-mile radius over two days, cursing the parents whose kids are satisfied with online shopping, and entertain ideas of awards they should give out to parents who survive the ordeal and the cocktail parties thrown in their favor.

There are no photos. No one (me) has the time or energy or humor for photos.

Next stop, the Folk Festival.

Folk Festival 2014

The music was so good, Maya and Sandi broke out in spontaneous dance.

Ella (and I) waited through a full musical set for her annual henna tattoo.



 



Family favorite: popcorn as big as Maya.

2017

Giant popcorn sleeve 2014

   

Folk Festival 2012

Somewhat accidentally, it has become a tradition for us to spend one of the very last days of summer at Branch Lake with some or all of the Smiths, jumping off big rocks into crystal clear water. And every year the kids perform some sort of version of Happy Birthday for me (they started it years ago and now I insist on it).

This is the grand finale, reminiscent of Charlie's Angels.

2016

Then before you know it, you are packing lunches and your 7th grader is setting an alarm to get up a solid 4 hours earlier than she has most of the summer so she can straighten her hair and your 4th grader is trying to decide if the Nike Pros she has lived in all summer violate the dress code (they do).

It was fun to take our first day of school pictures on our front porch!

2016

Every year I get a picture of the girls together. This year Maya's hair looked like a flock of birds has roosted for the night and had yet to be evicted with a brush. She looked at me like no way are you taking my picture.

But being a mom, by definition means you have moves. Some call them manipulations. I prefer the term motivation. "Well, you girls could at least give each other a hug before Ella leaves..." And boom: there's my photo.

First day of school 2013

First day of school 2014

2015

Piper was all like, "WAIT. What?"

2016

We moved into the house two days after school got out and spent a whirlwind couple of weeks unpacking, mounting, installing and establishing residency at our local Home Depot and Lowe's.  Then Sandi went back to work, summer hit like a bomb and everything got tabled.

I spent the first days with the kids in school trying to catch up our lives, a typical early September activity: tame the umpteen piles of laundry, unpack from two weeks at camp, return unanswered phone calls, go through an irresponsible amount of unattended to mail, organize the fall schedule and get back to a normal work routine writing and massaging. 

But more than anything, I relished the time to bond with my house. To organize and figure out systems for how we function in the space, to purchase the things we still needed and to reclaim the spaces that had been taken over with boxes and unpacked things. To be alone in the empty quiet of the beautiful space, productive and accomplished, once again.

And then it's time for vibrancy and volume to fill the house once again. Piper has a new found love for the hissing air-break of the school bus. The kids take the bus both ways to school this year! I love that yellow rectangle.

First day of school afternoon ice cream party. Another tradition. This is what it looked like last year:

And this year.

Labor Day, the true last call it seems, brought the girls and I back to the beach with my family (Sandi typically works Labor Day). While September will have some warm, even hot, days, there won't be too many more that will drive kids into the freezing Atlantic.

First the kids decided they needed to construct a raft on which to send Maya across the narrow inlet to the other shore. I let them work on it for a while before I informed them that she would not be riding on such a vessel.

When they realized that no amount of begging would allow them to send Maya out to sea, they begged to strip down and swim (neither mother brought swim suits since it wasn't supposed to be over 70 degrees). We granted them this request and they used their "raft" (known in some circles as a log) and motored across.

This is what happens when your almost 13 yo steals your phone.

My sister, my mom and I

Two years ago my mom and her grandkids:

2015

And this year, the four grandkids blue one grand-dog who sat so eagerly for this photo.

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Happy autumn everyone! It's time for warm blankets at field hockey games, a fire in the fireplace, fleece, soups and chilly mornings.

 And here's a wish for presence...because life is going way too fast.

Folk Festival 2012

2014

Today. xoxoxo

swim, bike, run (and flip)

We are trying to kind of sneak up on Maya with the introduction to her athletic prowess. She has it but she doesn't really know it. Because she is such a competitive kid she tends to shy away from doing anything where she is at risk of losing. Her determination has been better suited for individual endeavors which is why gymnastics seems to be a good fit for her. She has refused soccer, softball and basketball even though she shows promise with the skills of all of those sports.

When her drive and her skill click she will be a force. 

But peer pressure can be a good thing. Her best friend Abby was going to do the Jr. Bears kids triathlon, would she like to do it too?  She shrugged. "Sure." 

Maya might be the first person ever to do a triathlon with a full face mask.

Now to say that Maya and Abby are cut from the same cloth would be accurate but not descriptive enough. It would more fair to say that when the black hole that exploded to create the universe, Abby and Maya were racing each other to the front of the line of creation, giggling and spanking each other's bums and making crazy faces while telling everyone else the best way to proceed at the dawn of time. 

When Maya and Abigal (affectionately dubbed "Mabigal") are together, your stomach hurts from laughing, you think about things you never considered before, especially when these incredibly industrious and creative children have been quiet for any length of time (they last went in the room carrying a jar of Peanut Butter, a map, some cotton balls, a flashlight and scissors...maybe I should check on them) and you are searching for a glass of wine and some ear plugs.

While we were waiting for the race to start I took the girls into the indoor field house at the University of Maine to get some of their wiggles out. They ran to the other side of the track (because who doesn't sprint around a track 15 minutes before a race?) and I could hear them screeching with glee. I heard the distinct phrase, "Sandbox!" and looked up to see them flinging sand through the air like confetti. 

It was the long jump pit. 

Abby is Maya's first best friend and she couldn't have picked a better one. When Trish came downstairs the other day while I was making dinner she said, "Something smells good down here!" To which Abby replied, "Oh, it's probably me."

In short, Maya has found her soul mate. 

 The triathlon was two laps in the pool followed by a 1 mile bike ride and a 1/2 mile run.  Parents could help their kids set up their transition spot but that was it. No help from us during the race. We were told before the start, "Parents, it is time to let go."  I reluctantly did.

Sandi was on call and, sadly, got called into work as the National Anthem. I took videos of all three events but it was such a bummer that she had to miss it.

Maya is a speed demon in sneakers. I am not exaggerating when I say she is hard for me to beat when we race.

 And I am flat out envious of her form.

 So proud of these girls!!

Nothing like having your grandparents come and cheer you on!

 As if that weren't enough for one day, the afternoon was spent at the girls' end of year gymnastics show. Gymnastics had sort of taken over our lives this year and I have from time to time whined about it. But as I sat in the auditorium watching all the classes show their skills all the way up to the competitive team the girls are on, I was totally wowed by what they could do and how hard they had worked to get there.

My kids kind of amazed me on this day and that is great thing to experience from time to time.

More grandparents!

 When we stopped for ice cream on the way home there were some other people from the show there and they went out of their way to speak to the girls and tell the how impressed they were with their tumbling. The girls beamed, feeling like celebrities.