a little letting go

It's here, practically, and I'm so, very bummed about it.

We had high hopes for this summer. Not to say it was a down-and-out summer, by any means. We had an awesome start to it with our west coast vacation, and then our first anniversary. But after that, it turned out to be a rather overwhelmingly busy summer...and busy was the last thing we wanted. We have immediate family sick, going through changes, and making big decisions. We have both considered big changes too, and worked lots of nights despite ourselves. We have failed at finding time for date nights, but have still mostly succeeded at staying connected. Chicken kebab salads from our favorite local dive, called in for late night take out, is probably my favorite date anyway.

The sign of the end came last week when I sat and watched our final camp performance of the summer. Since July, every two weeks we've put up a show, from Disney musicals to last week's teen theatre intensive, which focused on scenes from Shakespeare and songs by Jason Robert Brown. I'm not a fan of camp. I prefer a summer without camp on my plate. Staffing and such brought me back to it this year though, and I actually found myself a bit sad during the show on Friday afternoon. I hope this is my last ever camp, and despite that it is something I very much want to let go of, it still requires letting go. I feel so proud watching my kids stand bravely in front of a crowd, more confident than they were on Monday, more aware of their strength and presence. I will miss that.

And I do know the summer isn't quite done yet! We've still a little time before Labor Day. Hence, a summer sleepover tonight with my favorite niece, Katie El. It's her first, ever sleepover! For a little happy Tuesday treat, enjoy a video I posted a while back when the lovely Katie El was still a mere 3 years old. It's sure to make your day.