Out with the old and in with the new

Perhaps I can start anew here. I mean it's been more than 4 months since I last blogged. And since I started this blog, "mommy blogging" has become a big thing. Which means, really, that I was a little ahead of the curve though I don't really consider this a mommy blog.

Since I have a life with a full time job, I can't spend my days finding the best coffee house that entertains my kids while I sip and gossip. I already send my girls to a wonderful school so I have no alternative opinions worth sharing (and I am NOT objective), I am not researching the best possible family vacation, I can't tell you the best free kids activities in town, and frankly, my friends who aren't working full time don't have time to do those things either. I guess we're all underachievers. :-)

But what I do know is that I enjoy writing when I get the chance, am not on deadline, and am not pretending to be something I'm not. And so...in this free moment, I decided to get some thoughts down on "paper".

We have just returned from a magical short week in Black Butte outisde of Sisters, OR. Sisters is just over the Santiam Pass, through the mountains from Salem, OR to Bend, OR. It is considered high desert country. The earth is kind of sandy and dusty and dry, the trees are tall and mostly very straight, the land is flat, mostly, between each of the huge mountains that surround the area, the creeks and rivers are clear, litter free, and ICE COLD. Black Butte is a vacation community with condos and houses through winding streets with golf courses, pools, tennis courts, and miles ofd bike paths. It was the ultimate family vacation in a rented house with full kitchen, nice back deck, room for all of us and the wonderful family we traveled with, and we all had a blast, got to relax, got along well, swam, rode bikes, and generally spent a week focused on fun and family time. Would it have been better without the kids? Sure, but then we would have spent the whole time wishing they were there too and feeling guilty so I think it was really all for the best to have been there all together.

What I discovered that week was that my children don't need to spend time in front of the TV, that they are capable of playing on their own when there are friends around or when they aren't. That they can be a little independent, but always round back to check in, that they are interested in nature, love animals (which I knew) and enjoyed the vacation as much as mommy and daddy did. We don't get to do that too often but I'm hoping that will change now since we discovered how nice it could be.

And now we're back home and focused on school beginning in two days. The kids are excited and nervous as are we but we know how much they love it and so we're all looking forward to it in our own way. I'll have a second grader and a preschooler. A SECOND GRADER. That just shocks me because I remember MY second grade year fairly well.

Anyhow, all is well, we are relaxed and are hoping to cling to that for as long as possible. It might just be another 24 hours or so but anything is better than nothing. :-)

I'll check in again next weekend...Labor Day weekend. I should have time to write then and report on the first week of school.

Until then, love to all. Enjoy the rest of your summer.