Summer solstice posts flooded my social media feeds two days ago. Kids are out of school, families are headed out 'on holiday,' as Hallie would say, and it's hotter than a sauna outside. The twins have been out of school since mid-May so all of this is old news for us. I have a love/hate relationship with summer. I love warm nights, pool days, packing for vacation and adventuring with our friends. I do not love this HEAT. As a kid raised in Washington, we swam in ice cold water and hoped for sunny days more than we actually enjoyed them. We laid out if the sun showed it's barley showed it's face and until the clouds stole our warmth or worse, our tans. I will never get used to the deep souths heat and humidity. The combo is brutal for this Pacific Northwest transplant. So while we've been having a blast and have already made many fun summer memories, I'm already yearning for fall. I may have even asked who was excited for Christmas at the dinner table tonight.... Aaron looked at me like I was crazy and the kids, well, they're excited for Christmas! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Two weeekends ago Aaron and I escaped the heat in California for our longtime friend's wedding. We had an unforgettable stay with several of our closest friends and we soaked up the Californian sun, thanks to gorgeous days in the 70ies.
Upon return, we had a sick kiddo. Back to life, back to reality. Grayson came down with fever for two days and shortly afterwards, Aaron caught a tummy bug, which found me soon after. It wasn't awful for me, but I was the kind of nauseas you feel in the first trimester of pregnancy for three or so days. Could have been worse. By the end of the week everyone was back to par. And then Hallie felt warm. Here we are four days later, managing her fever, as well as a case of cabin fever. There's no getting fresh air this time of year, unless it involves bathing suits and a body of water. But fever. Maybe this is God's way of slowing us down, because we are known for going and going and going.... you get the idea. We've read allllll the stories, built impressive Lego fortresses, created the entire animal kingdom of Play Doh, watched movies and napped. Doesn't seem so bad as I write it out. And while it's really not so bad, weeks like these make me miss the structure of the school year. A reason to go to bed early, set an alarm and brush my hair. We signed the twins up for Vacation Bible School to help balance the lack of schedule, but so far only one kid made it to one day. I was up bright and early Monday am to reserve H&G's walk in reservation spots. I waited an hour, only to realize my debit card was left at home, and of course, payment had to be made before the kids were allowed to go. My neighbor who has kids in camp saved the day. It takes a village! Grayson waited patiently with me, while Hallie stayed home with Daddy in hopes to join G for day two. Day two neither showed up. After day one G looked pretty bummed out at pick up. His group leader said he cried after snack time wanting his mommy, ouch! While I know this stuff is normal, I can't help but feel bad for him having to go to his first-ever day camp without his twin sister. The twin bond is real. So is the attachment. We told him, if he really didn't want to go without Hallie, he could wait until she felt better and they could go together. He was happy with that. Grayson is shy and tends to stand back in big crowds, hanging with sister, mom or dad. At church they are in the same group, but different cubicles. At school, they are in the same classroom, but sit at different tables. At home they are together all day, but sleep in their own bedrooms. A little independence, but just a little for now. I know they will need to become more independent as they get bigger and I will fully support and encourage that. For now he's just 3 and if he wants his sister to go to camp with him, that's okay.
So as we mope around with our summer blues and slow days on repeat, I am thankful for downtime, even if it isn't by choice. It's not very often I get to hold and snuggle my babies anymore so I'll gladly hold them while they're sick and consider it the upside of our summer blues.
