Summer: An Epilogue

This past summer was not my favorite. I'm not very sorry to see it go. I did my best in making lemonade, soaking up the sun, singing kumbaya, yada-yada, but at the very best I felt like I was just surviving. I just wanted it to be over. This was the summer of medical bills, low carb diets, threats of homelessness, and lots of family drama. I gave myself little projects to do to keep myself distracted from all the nonsense. I'm sure mothers everywhere who are juggling multiple children and jobs are rolling their eyes at me "giving myself projects". Don't worry, it makes my eyes roll too. But the thing is, I've found that when I get into a terrible funk and there is no end in sight that I have to push myself to do something, anything, to get myself out of it. When I was struggling with post-partum depression, I did a 30-day boot camp. It was stupid, fun, and took a lot of time and effort and in the end it sort of snapped me out of my depression. This year I gave myself the Splash Pad project. It was also stupid, fun, and took way too much time and effort. But it gave me some great memories with Shye and it helped that time to pass more quickly. And now at the end of summer I can say that I'm feeling a bit more like myself. Anyway....

The weather around here is still warm enough for playing in water but all the splash pads are closed. Rude. So last week I took Shye to Salem pond, where we fed the fat ducks (whadda lazy bunch of free-loaders those ducks are, I tell you. They practically demand bread crumbs! moochers!), threw rocks into the pond and splashed to Shye's little two year old heart's content. Ok not really. As any mother of a two year could probably tell you, no amount of splashing will ever suffice. When I told Shye we had to go after two hours she flung herself most dramatically on the ground and cried. Being the cruel mother that I am, I picked her up, strapped her into her carseat, and took her to Walmart. That'll teach her. Dramatic tantrums aside, it was the perfect way to end our summer.

p.s. believe it or not, I didn't make Shye wear the hat. I bought it last summer with dreams of making it part of a Madeline costume, which never happened, mostly because Shye always refused to wear hats. Then one day last week she became obsessed with this hat and spent the entire day carrying it around and trying it on in front of the mirror. Of course my head was practically exploding with excitement thinking of all the cute hats I could get her. But it seems that it was just a one day obsession since she now refuses to wear it again. Sigh.