Is It Summer Yet? New seasons of life don't always fall in line with the calender.

We are a homeschool family. One of the many perks of this was having more freedom with our schedule. I would give longer holiday breaks when the children were younger and do a little refresher in the summer once in a while so we didn't lose any learning. We took vacations offseason and would take off on the prettiest sunny days instead of snow days. 

Then... 

I know this is a mess to look at, but this is what school often looked like at our house.  I miss this in many ways.

Well... With adult and high school age children, things get complicated. We have to coordinate around college terms, co-op schedules, and activities. Add in regular visits to doctors and we have become slaves to the calendar. How did this happen? 

Now

Even a family vacation including all five of us is difficult now, but not impossible. 

Now we snatch every moment together like precious jewels of time. The blessing of new freedoms and growth are welcome.  I always knew I would train myself out of a job and I am almost there. It happened so quickly! It wasn't a painful transition. I only cried a little. They... they flew, soared! and visit the nest.

This summer we aren't doing a family vacation. One of my daughters is working full time and taking summer classes, the other is traveling (and am I jealous) a lot! We will be apartment hunting with them, making small trips to catch up with family, doctors visits out of state, and trying to live in each moment given us. 

Things I am grateful for in this time of parenting adults:

prayer, Facetime, texts, Instagram

Things I have learned: band-aids and cookies don't fix the problems anymore, they need a cheerleader as more than advice, they are capable and need to be reminded, listening is still the best thing we can do for our children.

Check out my daughter's blog  Beretmerry here. 

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.  Barbara Bush