T-minus seven days.

And just like that, summer is over.  Ten weeks gone in the blink of an eye.

If you had asked me on June 6th, I would have naively told you that summer would be a break from the craziness of the school year.  After school is out, I'll have time to relax/get organized/get something accomplished/breathe.  Yeah right.

When I look back on this summer, I will remember how it was all about the kids.  Which really is how it usually is and how it should be.  But this time around the activities were much more involved and time intensive.  It was over, under, and all around me.

(There was my highly celebrated birthday week, but even that was not immune.)

The first half of the summer was peppered with baseball game after baseball game.  Every other night we sat at the ballpark, cousins chasing after each other and shyly admiring Andrew, trying to ignore the sweltering heat, cheering on a brand-new pitcher. Then came Girl's Camp, that hotter-than-hot (yet still not the hottest) week that left me with the realization that I actually enjoyed myself...and also with a back injury that would last six weeks.

Then there were the weeks when I had a driver's seat permanently under my derriere.  Back and forth, back and forth, here and there, and back again.  Safety Town, swim lessons, theater camp, cross country practice, rehearsal.  And don't forget the occasional doctor's appointment, a couple of trips to the chiropractor, and weekly allergy shots.

It's all so tedious.  You feel like a taxi driver, only without the tips.  You do it for the kids, knowing full well that they have no idea how much goes in to coordinating, to rounding up, to keeping the gas tank filled.  But every once in a while you get a little something back.  But when you see your children grow, improve, succeed, and thrive, you know it is all worth it. 

I saw Emma and Leah feel the Spirit, strengthen their testimonies, step outside of their boxes, try new things.  I watched them associate with other kids who are like they are: good, kind, pure, strong.  It was an honor for me to catch the small glimpse I did.  I saw Brooke pour her natural exuberance into an impressive theatrical production.  I saw her confidence with her cast mates, with her cue times, with her part.  I was introduced to a heartwarming and clever musical that was unbelievably well-performed. 

The frenzy of summer activities and the buzz of conferences and plays have now devolved into a madness of orientations, band practice, school shopping, and last minute doctor's appointments.  The late Olympic-watching nights turn into sleepy mornings.  We feel the first day looming large before us.  A lesser-experienced person might be fooled into thinking that starting school will stop the insanity.  But not I. 

School starts in one week.  But I am smart enough to know that the insanity never ends.