Day 126: Last Family Summer Dinner

Tonight Brian and I and the boys - Brandon, Harrison & Spencer had dinner together for the last time in Summer 2010. Harrison & Spencer leave tomorrow for Camp Harmony to be camp counselors for a week and while they are gone, Brandon returns to college.

Wow, I can't believe our summer as a family has come to an end. What a whirlwind it has been. I mean really a whirlwind. On any given night we probably had 6 to 7 teenage bodies sleeping at the house. The food shopping, cooking and BBQs that took place were endless. The house always had a buzz ... sports games blaring from the TV screen, video games being played, music pumping ... and certainly lots of laughter.

I have always said that two of the ingredients to raising healthy teenage boys must include food & sports. One day I will post my philosophy on why I believe family meals are so vital to a child's upbringing and why any sports activity - organized or otherwise - is equally important to raising boys.

Having all three sons together over the summer has been wonderful. Watching them interact and be "bros" was very special for me. When one of your chicks leaves for college the dynamics of the house are forever changed. For good or bad. For me it's bad because I so crave my chicks being together. But part of responsible parenting is giving your children the wings to fly and to be successful while on their journey.

So Harrison and Spencer will experience being camp counselors at sleep away camp for the first time and Brandon will return to begin his Sophomore year of college. As sad as it may make me, it also brings me much joy that they are all on these great paths of life.

So as we sat around the dinner table us 5 Simon's, dining on our last meal together for many months, I thought what a great summer it has been!

Day 114: School Emergency Forms

Ugh! The boy's school packets arrived today with endless forms to be filled out and dates to be paid attention to! UGH!!!! Once those arrive it's like you are suppose to shift back to school mode, but school doesn't start for a month already! Not until September 13! I do not even want to think about Brandon returning to college or Harrison & Spencer going back to High School!!

Juggling all the back-to-school dates: one for registration; one to change your class schedule; one to book airline ticket to send college boy back to Oregon; then all the holiday schedules and juggling every one's schedule so you can coordinate to be together! Ugh again!

I resented receiving the packets today because now my mind has to absorb all these dates and I feel pressure to get the forms filled out and returned by all the varying due dates! I don't want any more dates to remember in my head! It's enough with all that we have going on now... the new school year always brings endless dates and commitments and I'm not in the mood today!

While I know it's inevitable that the boys return to their studies, I just wasn't ready to get the packets today reminding me that it's just around the corner. I want to soak up every minute left of summer with them and these damn forms are an eyesore on my desk!