Well, here we are. School starts tomorrow.

The last few days have been busy in that end-of-summer, trying-to-get-everything-done-before-the-first-day kind of way.

We took Norah Harper and Gage to their meet and greet, got schedules figured out, did some last-minute shopping, got Gage’s haircut, bought more tennis shoes after I swore we were finished buying things 😂 and basically did all the things that come with getting two kids ready to go back to school.

This will be Norah Harper’s first year of middle school, and changing classes will be completely new to her. I think she’s going to love it, though. She’s like her mama and doesn’t exactly have the world’s longest attention span, so shorter classes and changing scenery may be right up her alley. 😂 She has PE, music and art right now, while Gage has STEAM, band and art.

I’m especially proud of Gage. Last year he had to give up an elective and take an additional math class because he was struggling. It took him a little while to catch up, but once he did, he took off. Having math first AND second period was one heck of a way to start every morning, so I know he’s happy to have that elective back this year.

I’m also really glad they’ll be at the same school. They share a lot of the same friends, they can look out for each other, and I think they’re going to have a lot of fun. This will be their one and only year in middle school together because next year Gage will be in high school.

Gosh. I still don’t particularly enjoy saying that out loud.

Today has actually been pretty quiet compared to the last few days. We watched church, listened to a few really good sermons, and mostly just took it easy. Gary did work on the privacy fence I’ve been asking him to build, so I’m counting that as a very productive Sunday. 😂

Other than that, we’ve just been home, getting mentally ready for tomorrow and enjoying one last slow day before the school routine kicks back in.

Gary has some potentially exciting things happening at work too. He recently surprised me by telling me he was considering bidding on a job in one of the more technical areas of his company, and he went for it. If he gets it, it would mean a lot of training and stepping into an area where he doesn’t have a ton of experience yet, but the people there know him and like him, and I know he’s capable of learning it.

Every time I think that man is going to settle into a position and get comfortable, he decides to push himself a little further. But I think that’s exactly the point. He doesn’t want to get comfortable quite yet. He wants to push himself while he’s young enough, strong enough and sharp enough to do it so maybe he can take things a little easier later.

I understand that. If he gets it, we’ll be thrilled. If he doesn’t, he’s already in a good place. As long as he’s happy, I’m happy, and I’ll always support whatever he decides to do.

There have been some sweet little surprises mixed into the last few days too. One of our old neighbors from when we lived in Seminole reached out after all these years. They live in Brewton now, only about 45 minutes away, and she couldn’t believe how much the kids had grown. They were only five and six the last time she saw them. We may even get to see them soon, which would be really nice.

I talked to Alan too. Kayleigh Bug is in Tampa with him looking at colleges because somehow she’s about to start her senior year at Milton High. She’s deciding whether she wants to go to school in Tampa or stay closer to home in Pensacola, and she’s looking for a job too. I told her she’s more than welcome to make a little money babysitting for us occasionally. My kids are getting close to being old enough to stay home alone, but certainly not for an entire weekend. Having Kayleigh here every now and then might even let Gary and me sneak away somewhere by ourselves.

Imagine that. 😂

Somewhere in between all of this lately, I’ve been painting, cleaning, messing around with my little indoor lettuce project, swimming when I can, and acquiring new exercise equipment that Gary and I will soon discover new and creative ways to hate.

Just life.

And honestly, life is good.

Tonight feels a little bittersweet because tomorrow morning we start another school year. I’m ready for the routine again, and I won’t pretend I’m not looking forward to having a little time to myself and perhaps going longer than twelve minutes without somebody dirtying something in the kitchen. 😂

But I’m going to miss them too.

They’re actually really good about helping around here, even if nobody cleans quite like Mama cleans. I try to let them do things their way because that’s how they learn. I can show them a better way without making them feel like what they did wasn’t good enough.

I think that applies to more than cleaning, actually.

They’re growing up, and part of my job now is learning when to help, when to guide and when to get out of the way and let them figure some things out for themselves.

Tomorrow one of my babies starts middle school, the other starts his last year of middle school, and somehow we’re already here.

So tonight I’m soaking up the last few hours before the alarms start going off, backpacks head out the door and another chapter begins.

Summer, you were good to us.

Now let’s see what this school year has in store.