Twelve Summers

One week from right now, I will be in my classroom checking the clock for the last half-hour of open house to be over. Another school year will begin...my 13th to be exact. This also means I have had twelve summer "vacations". Each summer has been different in its own way. I got married the summer after my first year of teaching. That was a whirlwind summer which involved, among many other things, a lot of thank you writing. A few summers after that, we moved to our house...lots of packing, unpacking, painting, and calls to people who could install things like water softeners and heat pumps. That was the summer I also spent many hours taking classes towards my Masters. The following summer we hosted Troy's mother-in-law as she finished work at BSU for her teaching degree. I was also still taking classes, and Troy was working at BSU. We all had a lot of fun that summer. I think the next summer I hammered out my research paper and was happy to complete my Master's degree. The following summer will surely never be forgotten! It started on an exciting note as I was almost 20 weeks pregnant and ended on my red sofa on complete bedrest. To this day, lying on the red couch is a comforting place for me. The summers since then have entailed all the things that one does as a mom of an infant, toddler, and now a little boy. I try to soak it all in because I know how FAST it goes. I am so grateful, as a working mom, to have the opportunity to be home three months out of the year. And so each summer, as the warm days wind down and school bells beckon, I take a few deep breaths as the countdown to another summer begins.