I'm Gonna Miss This...

Well, here we are...Summer 2011 has more or less come to an end.  It came and went far too quickly in my opinion.  I intended to blog more often than I did over the summer, but each time I sat down to write there was only one topic weighing on my mind...and that was the start of the 2011-2012 school year.  I just couldn't bring myself to go there yet...so, I decided to wait till it was closer to time for school to start.  Suddenly, that time has come and I write this with an excited yet heavy heart.  

I am excited that my 3 most precious blessings are each about to embark on new and fun adventures.  For Alex, it will be 7th grade and all that it brings with it...most significant would be him playing football (and other middle school sports).  He has lived and breathed football since he was just a little guy about the age of 4.  He can rattle off stats for most any NFL team and/or player - he has been doing this for as long as I can remember.  He's watched games on tv, attended one in person and even gotten upset when his favorite team (the New England Patriots) lost in a Superbowl or two.  For years, he has asked when he could play.  My reply was always the same: "When you get to 7th grade..." I had no idea that time would arrive so quickly.  While I am nervous (as most every mom is), I am thrilled to see him live out his dream of finally playing football.  He is excited but anxious as well.  We had to search for pants that were small enough to fit him - he isn't fond of the whole locker room and shower idea (but what teenager is, really?) - he is worried about getting hit and being so little in stature - just a little bit of this and a little bit of that... But I truly believe that once they get started with practices and games, he will be happy to be there...worries and fears set aside...playing with a heart and love of the game so much bigger than his physical presence....enjoying each moment of it.  At least, I pray that is the case.  School - wise, he is ready to be back.  He loves to learn and is happy with his new schedule and teachers.  I am proud of the good student that he is.  I know 7th grade will be a great year!

Then there are my two babies and their adventure into kindergarten.  I am positive that their first 5 years of life passed twice as fast as Alex's seemed to have!  Kindergarten...wow...it seems it was just yesterday that we got the news that we were pregnant with twins.  A package deal...that's how they came...that's how I will forever look at them...but come Monday morning, they are Lane and Alli...each their own individual person - the very ones God made them to be...each in their own classroom...separated not just from me, but from each other.  My heart tells me it will be hard for them, but my mind tells me this is the best thing for them...to allow them to be their own little selves.  Lane is super excited and has been for the longest time.  He is 5 going on 12 and looks up greatly to Alex.  Simply put, he just wants to be big and now is his chance!  He is just a big fun ball of personality all wrapped up in a little boy's body.  He is most excited about having a locker and getting to play on that playground!  He has told me that he already knows how to read so no need to learn that (I am not convinced of this but that is what he has said).  I do know that he is one smart cookie!  He can be doing something and I can think he is sooo not paying attention, but then come to find out he was.  He has an attention to detail that seldom fails him...it is amazing.  We sometimes worry that he will be a little more social than he needs to, but I really think he will be a completely different kid than he is when he is with us.  I think he will be just fine.  Now, Alli, on the other hand...well, who knows.  She is a sweet little girl, but so very shy and reserved in unfamiliar settings (and sometimes, even in familiar ones).  That said, however, she has done well on her own at dance for the past 2 years and did from the very first dance class.  She is very meticulous in coloring and drawing, etc. and likes to organize things so school-wise I am not worried.  Like her brothers, she is very smart and remembers things that most would forget.  She is excited that Lane's classroom and locker are both right across the hall from hers...almost as if this is a security blanket of sorts.  Socially, she is quite the opposite of Lane but I do think she will come around...eventually.  She tends to beat to her own drum at her own pace.  After a summer full of telling me she wasn't going to school, just this week she has decided it just might be ok and seems excited about it, in her own little way.  I know they will be just fine once the initial adjustment is made.  When I ask them what I will do while they are at school, they tell me: "You are going to have lots and lots of quiet time, Mommy!"  As great as that sounds, I am going to miss the chitter-chatter of my two little monkeys!  It will definitely be a fun and different kind of year for all of us!

My heart is heavy because...well...all of the above simply means that all 3 of my babies are growing up.  I once heard someone say that with kids the days are long and the years are short.  I realize now the abundant truth in that statement.  In my attempt to avoid the unavoidable, we stayed rather busy this summer - going and doing this and going and doing that.  We spent a lot of time just doing stuff together - going bowling, seeing movies, going on a super fun vacation, swimming, playing the wii, reading books, etc, etc.  In the midst of all of that though, we had our share of long days...days in which Alex's mouth ran overboard...days in which Lane whined a bit too much...days in which Alli didn't want to cooperate...days in which all 3 picked at each other and fought and argued...and days full of many other examples that simply made them long days.  But even with those long days, the summer was still too short.  I am reminded of the lyrics to the Trace Adkins song "You're Gonna Miss This" whose chorus is:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

So, I am excited about this new chapter in the lives of each of our children...this new chapter in our lives as a family...but I am saddened that time has flown far too quickly.  As I look ahead to the future and the fun times it holds, I already miss the past...even those long days on which my 3 precious blessings drove me cRaZy with their antics... Yep, I am definitely going to miss this...