Yo leaves, what’s the big hurry?

Well the leaves on some of the trees around here are tinged with death, so brace yourselves and all that. The sun is rising later in the morning, and I can feel change in the air. We are all well and truly back at work and school and “Summer” is over. Except technically it’s not, so I’ll thank those leaves to hold on for a bit longer.

Summer was glorious. Beach holidays and general lazing about were just exactly what we needed. By we I mean I. We did a “day out/day in” last two weeks of the holidays, which saw us climbing Hanging Rock and making skirts out of paper, among other things. The days in between was a tsunami of Baby Alive accoutrements across three levels of the house. But I can say one thing about these girls, they play amazingly together. From sunup til sundown they are in their own little world, oblivious to anything but the constant supply of snacks. Which often end up in the dolls’ mouths.

But yes, school and four-year-old kindergarten has begun, which left me having a quiet cry in shop aisles and post offices across the land every now and then because shit’s going too fast. I have plenty of work to occupy the quiet hours but everyone’s growing up and oh that reminds me, I need to buy more tissues. As all mothers feel at some point, I wonder if I spent as much time with them as I could have. Working from home was brilliant, but I did work. I just hope I didn’t work too much. I’m sure when they’re teenagers they’ll tell me. I think I balanced it pretty well, but what’s logic when there’s guilt to be had?!

I’m really looking forward to this year, I have the feeling that anything could happen. If only I could figure out what I wanted! I’m having now to think seriously about what I want to be when I grow up, and how I can get there from here. While it can’t stay this way forever, I’m really quite content at the moment. Please remind me of that at 3am when I have several existential crises one after the other.

Did you have a good summer? Was back to school crazy for you? Did you have a little cry in the pantry? Do you also have a weird smell in the house but you don’t know where it’s coming from? Your sympathies while I investigate will be welcome.