Back to school....already?

Wow how the summer flew!  Kids have gone back to school.  Feeling a little guilty because I can't say that I am sad to see them go.  Not that I didn't have a great time with my kids this summer. In the midst of my very chaotic summer, we did manage to make some really great memories, and do some fun and interesting stuff together.  But with my kids taking on more extracurricular activities (sports), the summer was not very relaxing to any of us to say the least.  Volleyball alone required me to drive my daughter to school 3 to 5 days a week, sometimes as early as 7:30 am.  Softball Tournaments occupied most of our Thursdays, Fridays and non-holiday weekends.  Good thing I don't have a job right?   But that aside, I usually enjoy being home with my kids for the summer.  They are fun to hang out with most of the time, and they help me around the house when I can motivate (aka bribe) them to do so.  But it seems that as they get older, they enjoy time with me and Dad less and less.  And when they do "hang" with us, they are irritable and demanding.  They also "take over" everything.   My radio and television are not my own if you know what I mean.  And I know I am going to sound like my grandmother, but their music and brainless television shows give me a headache.  I long for those days when they still enjoyed my music and watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie.  I think to a certain extent that they still do, but right now it is their little secret.

I miss those summers where we went to the park and had a picnic and a play date.   When my girls thought that going out to lunch with Grandma or going to an art gallery or museum was SO COOL!   This year I felt more like a drill-sergeant/task master trying to keep my kids from either destroying my home or killing each other.  Don't get me wrong, it is kind of nice that they can take care of themselves more, and that I don't really have to watch over them every minute.   But I have been longing for the days when my kids thought I was interesting, and just hanging out together was a good day.  It would be nice to reclaim the warmth and appreciation that comes with them needing me more.