School supplies the last week of July???

I am smack dab in the middle of summer. However stores have already put out their school supplies! Of course I have to buy them while the cool stuff is still in stock, & before they put up the Halloween stuff the day after Labor Day. Even though my children go back to school in less then 4 weeks. It still seems too early to be thinking about fall! School supplies, chilly mornings, parent-teacher meetings, plaid attire of some sort...It's 98 degrees for pete sake!! This year my beautiful little daughter will be in the 1st grade. Full day!!! I've given in & already ordered her the Hello Kitty back pack & matching lunch box. My wonderful little baby boy will be entering kindergarten this year,only 3 hours a day though. That does mean 2 trips to & from school a day. I don't mind. I don't think I am quite ready for the freedom of 6 1/2 hours a day without my children. What would I do with all that time? There is only so much house cleaning, recipe research & errands you can do in a week...you know? I may go into sudden shock with all the free time. I could totally lose my mind, go to a coffee shop & actually SIT & ENJOY the coffee, rather then guzzling it down as a means of survival... *GASP* No...no...too much freedom. I may start to think adult thoughts again. I am not quite ready for that. I have been in "mom-mode" for 7 years...sudden freedom & leisure time would be detrimental to my current state of being.

I truly am not ready to give my children back to school. As much as I would adore the few hours of hearing only my own thoughts...I am just not ready. I don't mind my children camping out in the same room & watching movies til 11:30 at night. I don't mind making the, as my son calls them "super big breakfasts" in the morning...letting the kids help, which of course makes 3 x's the usual mess & requires twice the time to clean up. I love their excited faces on the rides at the amuzment park. Their bravery when they dare go down a BIGGER water slide. The arcade, the zoo, the parks, the chill of the public library on an ultra hot day. I adore the late night movies with our big bowls of popcorn, the pool, the smore's, water balloon fights in the back yard, sidewalk chalk til almost 10pm, going to the lake, not having to sort socks because we wear sandles all summer long...just all the time with my kids. The ultra busy & the leisure days. School supplies in late July? Nope! I refuse to let merchants rush me through the last half of summer. I'm going to enjoy every moment right on through Labor Day weekend!