​Summer is Almost Over!

It never fails.  Whenever I get to this time of year, I can’t believe that summer is almost over.  I wonder to myself, “Where did the time go?”  I sit back and realize that I have not spent this summer the doing what I really wanted to do … nothing!  Unfortunately, summer is just like any other time of the year, I am busy, busy, busy!

Now don’t get me wrong, I did hang out with my friends and enjoy happy hour, but I would really like a summer where I didn’t have to work (but still get paid).  In fact, I would like to get paid more than what I make now, and have the summers off.  But, back to reality.  One thing that I hate about the summer is that school will start up again soon.  Luckily for me, I have kids that actually like going to school.  Perhaps I should rephrase that statement.  As my son told me once, he likes the social aspect of school, not so much the school work part of it.  I think the reason I dislike the end of summer and the beginning of school is that it makes me realize my kids are one year closer to leaving me and going off to college, and I will be home with an empty nest.  As much as my girlfriends and I joke about the kids being out of the house, the reality is that they will be missed.  Hell, I miss them when they go to their father’s, or when they spend a week with their grandparents!

I know you must be saying to yourself, “Girl, your kids are still in high school.  Why are you even thinking of them leaving for college?”  And you are right, maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about something that is two years or so from happening.  But the problem is ... this week, my kids and I are on mini college tour, so reality is slapping me in the face right now.  I took two weeks off to take a road trip with my kids.  As of today, my kids have seen Georgetown University, Howard University, and University of Virginia.  Tomorrow, they will be Duke.  By the end of next week we will have also seen Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Georgia Tech.  Just seeing both of my kids physically standing on a college campus makes me want to cry.  I can’t even imagine how I will react when I drop them and their belongings off at their dorm.  I hope I can hold in the tears until I get back to the car.  Anyway, I know that college life will be a good experience for them, and it is one that I want them to have.  And, I know that it is one that they want as well.  But until then, I am going to cherish the time that I have left because you may never know, as one of my friends told me over drinks the other night, “Once they leave for college, they may not come back home.”

So, cherish the time you have with your kids.  Once they leave, they may not come back home!

Consider Yourself Warned!