Let the summer begin...

So here it is, the first full day of summer vacation. 8 short weeks of it. When we all finished school yesterday we did something special. Mike took the kids to the lake and they loved swimming. I came home and took a nap with my two little kittens while the kids mindlessly played on their electronics! We headed out to a celebratory dinner (early) and while there wasn't much to say or share (I think we were all exhausted) we sat and ate and had a few conversations, although forced! Jackson read his book and Riley busied herself with the items on the table and the chance to win a trip to London by guessing when Kate Middleton was going to have her baby. Home again and although you'd think we'd be ready to relax together, there was nothing but sibling bickering, parental yelling and threats to take away the electronics ALREADY! "Your feet are touching me" "Stop chewing like that" "You are bothering me" and the like. Our small house gets smaller, the couch doesn't fit us all (and we weren't all even home, Mike was at work). We manage, we watch Full House, and I'm counting the minutes just to get us all to bedtime. Phone rings at 8:45 and it's my sister-in-law, you know it isn't a social call. Mike's mom is in the hospital with stomach pains, oh dear god, what next. I call him and I think his head is going to pop off! Please help us get through these next few days and then we can be off to D.C. together and relax? Really? Slamming the box across the hallway, stomping feet and yelling about toothbrushes and finally they're in bed. Riley is beside herself in tears. Apparently I yelled at her one too many time and sent her over the edge. Tears streaming down the sides of her face and she says "I just want to go back to 190 Oak Street, I want to go home" and in the moment I feel her pain, her frustration, her sadness. I take a deep breath (which I usually am unable to do in these situations) and have her do the same. We talk about how it is going to be summer vacation, yes, but one thing at a time. We won't think about it in big chunks or scary "to do" lists. We have 8 weeks. It's not that much time. Yes, we aren't going to be all together at camp and our days will be different, but that will be okay. "But all my friends, the majority, go to camp" she says and I say actually dear one, the majority can't afford camp so we have been the lucky ones these last two years, being able to go to camp because Mom worked there, you went there. A cold washcloth (Marge's advice) and the 10 minute rule and she is fast asleep in no time having Melatonin dreams. Jackson too is asleep quickly and its my time, although now I'm worried about my husband and mother-in-law and its hot and the dribble of wine left in the bottle isn't going to cut it I'm afraid so I hang it up and go to bed too. So now we're back to this morning, I said "I'm getting up at 7 to go for a walk" and Riley said "You won't do it, Mom", and she's right, it's 7:56 and although I'm up, its typing I'm doing and going to get that first cup of coffee. Because who knows what today still has yet to bring us. Welcome to you summer vacation, please be kind, we have been through a lot! side note: My mother-in-law had her appendix out this morning and we are hoping for a speedy recovery.