Summer is for The Birds!

Well it's been one of those days!

One of those days when

I HATE THE NEST!

Seriously, I've fallen quite in love with the Empty Nest but once in awhile ... out of the blue ... when I'm not expecting it ... all the walls fall in ... and it is just very, very SAD ... and I'm suddenly very, very pathetic ... and the Lifeguard worries over me ... so yeah,

it's one of those days!

Today is the "First day of Summer" in our little village.  You can feel freedom in the air.  There will be no more early mornings, no more schedules and days full of endless possibilities.

This day used to be one of my

favorites!

Summer would begin with sleeping as long as you wanted.

I know this is not healthy but it's a small luxury I offered my kids.  Mostly I did it because it was a luxury I didn't get (Sorry Mom!).

We were up early in the house I grew up in.  I realize it was needed, as there were a boat-load of us and living with a boat-load required the help of everyone but since this nest only housed two kiddos ... we slept.

It was heavenly!

I suppose it still could be heavenly but it's not as fun to do alone.

After the late sleeping we would hold a "beginning of summer" meeting.  

This wasn't a favorite for the boys.  One year Tyson declared that this meeting was a terrible way to start the summer.  In all honesty, I could see where he was coming from.  So after that we postponed the meeting to the second week of summer.  However, this didn't make it anymore popular.

The meeting consisted of the expectations for summer...

1- Keep your stuff picked up.

2- Keep your stuff picked up.

3- Keep your stuff picked up.

4- Be in by 10:00 PM on weeknights.

Those first 3 rules were not popular and it about killed my two birds to live by them!  Not to mention, the enforcing of them about killed ME!

Let's chat about the 10:00 PM rule.

That was a JOKE!!

Especially in Tyson's younger days.  Tyson and "the boys" would gather here, while Jessie and "the girls" would gather next door and somehow they'd all end up on my trampoline.  10:00 PM would roll around and how could I split up the fun??  After all they were under superb supervision (mine).  Little did I know, quite a few "first kisses" took place during those summer evenings.  I still can't figure out how that slipped past me!

Oh!!!  It's super fun to recall those days!

Our next order of summer business would be to try on everything in our closets and purge the things that no longer fit.  It's an easy request ... right?

To quote Hummer,

"MOMMMMM! 

Are you trying to kill me??!!"  

This is the same boy who made it so miserable to take him school shopping that I resorted to buying him things, bringing them home, where he would try them on ... at which point I would return most of them ... just to walk back into the house with a new armful for him to approve or disapprove of.

Yes, this did cause me to be put in "JAIL" a few times!

Are you familiar with the place?  The place where they won't let you make anymore returns for 6 months because you've made too many?!

Oh it's real place people!!!!

Because of the JAIL ... he was forced to finally join me shopping.  I was then required to shop in places that also sold comfy chairs, where he would park himself with Harry Potter ... and I would bring clothes to display for him.  From his chair he would accept or shoo away my offerings.

You know, now that I think about it,

WHAT WAS I DOING?

WHAT WAS I THINKING?  

To be honest, his face was just super hard to resist so I just went with it!

Isn't it funny how one mother can raise two opposites?

While the baby bird was reclining in a chair somewhere, the oldest bird was frantically filling his cart ... the one he pushed around himself ... with everything and anything he thought he couldn't live without.

HE LOVED TO SHOP!!

Still does by the way.  

I think Tyson knew how exhausting Dillon was to shop for, hence how thrilled I would be that he picked out his own clothes ... thus allowing him to check out with nearly everything he couldn't live without.

I remember the year he fell in love with these

 ORANGE PANTS!! 

He recently asked me what I was thinking.  I gently I had to remind him I wasn't thinking anything ... HE convinced me how necessary they were.  

Again, I seemed to be a softy for the faces of my birds.  Hence the orange pants came home with us.

ANYWAY ...

Those two little birds were a handful for me but oh the

JOY!!

So yeah,

I'm missing them today.

There was no sleeping late.

No dreaded meeting.

No killer closet cleaning.

No messes.

And tomorrow there will be

NO shopping spree for summer snacks.

NO swimming lessons.

NO baseball games.

NO heaps of laundry.

NO messes.

So yeah, it was

a WEIRD day! 

I'm seriously wondering how I am going to turn this into an inspirational post.

Hmmmm.

You know what?

I'm not.

I just needed a friend.

Thanks for being one!

Tomorrow I'll feel awesome in my empty nest!

I've already decided I'll get out of my PJ's before 4:00 PM, unlike today.

Yeah ... don't judge ... not today.

Seems summer at the cemetery was even a good time!

Drinks, kisses, the whole 9 yards!

HA! HA! HA!

Everything is AWESOME in hindsight!

Enjoy your summer!