The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Big girl alert! Big girl alert!  Today, August 29, 2011, my first born started Kindergarten.  I can't really describe how I feel about it.  I'm very proud of her, a little sad, concerned about the new germs, excited, relieved, and most of all, confused as hell. How in the world did the last five years go by so quickly?

I still remember my first day of Kindergarten. I remember the smell of art supplies, giant cardboard blocks that looked like bricks, inflatable letter people, the playground and the four other Jennifers that I met that day (yes, I'm serious).  I colored in a school bus and got yelled at for shoving it in my teacher's face instead of placing it on her desk.  Oopsie.

I hope today is a good day for Lydia.  I hope she makes a ton of friends.  I hope she comforts the kids that are sad and/or shy.  I hope she eats her lunch I spent forever packing. I hope she remembers her snack is in the front pocket of her backpack.  I hope she understands that this isn't just for today and doesn't decide she isn't going back.  I hope she comes home with something I can hang on the wall.

Most of all I hope this is the beginning of what proves to be an incredible journey of the mind and spirit.  I hope she discovers what she loves to do and is encouraged to pursue it.  I wish her success and happiness, peace and love.

Whatcha Wanna Do Today?

Lydia starts Kindergarten on monday. Yikes! I feel all kinds of pressure to make this a good weekend. I'm not sure why, but I do. So the day went a little like this:

ice cream.

A river.

bellies full of ice cream.

i don't know. mal's butt is in front of her face.

all kinds of artsy.

ice cream.

tourist shot.

i know. this has been done a million times. i don't care. it's cool.

raise the rain shelter.

uh-oh. someone's had enough.

band photo.

strike a pose.

So that was our day. What did you do??

My Girls, Unscripted

I'm going to make a solid effort to document more of our moments.  I'm vowing to not clean the chocolate off my kids' face, choose the outfits or brush their hair. I'm vowing to not tell them where to stand or to look at mommy's camera. I'm vowing to document their lives, unscripted and unrehearsed.

Because our lives aren't always pretty.  We certainly don't spend much time posing, as a general rule. We fall down and get back up. We spill our milk. We drag dirt down the halls.

I let them wear what they want, within reason. I don't care too much about matching or their outfits making a whole lot of sense. Young kids have zero control over their lives. It's important for them to make some decisions on their own.  Even if it means going out in public half ballerina, half cat.

We lay in the grass. We kick balls on the roof.  We (well they) dig for worms and give them names.

This is us.

Unscripted and unrehearsed.

The Cottage

Most people who know me, know this place.  They've been here, they've slept here, they've had green popsicles on the porch and years later, ice cold beer. They've played the out-of-tune piano in the house and they've been stuck on the pontoon when it broke down. They've braved bad storms and soaked up the sun on a perfect Michigan summer day.

This place has seen many changes over the years. The long dock that I jumped off when I was little is gone and so is the screened-in porch. But my kids still search for shells in the same spot that I did.  They still feed the fish just like I did. They still squeal with excitement when we drive by the lake on the way there.

My kids still think the broken and battered cottage toys are the best toys on the face of the Earth, just like I did.

They still love bringing their friends here, just like I did.

They love waking up here in the morning, just like I did.

Now I have a different kind of fun.  Just like the adults did when I was little.

We hit life's pause button here and leave the distractions behind.

This place never really belonged to me, and it probably never will. But it will always be a part of me.  

So here's to many more summer days, reconnecting with old friends and getting to know new ones. Here's to more swimming, running, digging, jumping, boating, eating, drinking, sleeping.  Here's to more cottage days.  Here's to life.