End of Summer....

The end of Summer break is upon us, and its probably bitter sweet for most of us. If you have kids, maybe you'll miss them like crazy when they go back to school, maybe this has been the best summer ever and you're attached to your kiddos like the fleas and ticks that invade your beloved pooches backside after a hike through long grass. Perhaps you're the type of parent that makes  'To Do' lists at the beginning of summer, highlighting every museum, state landmark, campsite, water park, lake, and music festival there is. You've planned the whole summer and packed it with crafts, cook outs, peaks and parks, movies and sleepovers,  corn hole contests and balloon fights. If you're that kind of parent, well, I admire you. It's not like I didn't try! Every summer its the same thing. A couple weeks before school lets out, I start thinking of cool. awesome things to do. 'This year's gonna be different!', I say to my kids. 'This year, we're gonna do stuff! Lots more hikes and bike rides. Maybe we'll even hand make a scrapbook out of recycled material and paste summer pictures in it of all the things we did! ANNND, you're all going to read more! Every Saturday, we're going to go to the library and check out books and you'll each read at least three a week. Sound good?!'
OK, well, three weeks left of summer, and we got to the library twice. Once to check books out, and once to return them. My thirteen year old 'discovered' that he's quite good at video games, and you don't have to actually leave the house to play them. Meh.. Our annual July 4th party got rained out, our new corn hole game sat in the garage, and we had every intention of a road trip to Montana except well, who would watch the dogs?  But, we did manage a trip to California to visit my brother and his gorgeous wife, and spend time with my beautiful long lost cousin and lovely auntie. We floated on the Delta, stayed up too late talking about what we want to be when we grow up, and my three boys tubed off the back of my brothers boat. I'm fairly certain I acquired a few more gray hairs watching my youngest get nearly pulled under by the wake of a giant boat driven by its drunk captain. All that healthy food, and his strong little arms kept him on the surface of the water. Thank you kale shakes! Yep, he drinks them. 
So, as this Summer break winds down, remember its not what you did or didn't do, but the time you spent with your friends and family. A quiet chat sitting outside watching the sunset, a calm stroll on the trail near your house, or just snuggling up together watching Avengers for the tenth time. Life flies by. Treasure today, right now. Love and live and kiss your babies, be it fur babies or human babies. And always lead with your heart. 

Namaste

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