Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dream of a Summer Day

Hey, that thing I said about summer...I really need it to come. I do. And soon. I need to wake up in the morning at a less ungodly hour and to the sound of snuggle-happy voices (can we get in, mama?) instead of the obnoxious beep-beep-beep of my alarm clock. I need to be free from having to remember 18 pieces of paper, two checks, three overdue library books and 39 permission slips that must be tucked into backpacks, purses and preschool bags before anyone can set foot outside the house. I need to think about how I can make a memory instead of a dollar. Memories last so much longer, you see. I need to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and watermelon and cut-up apples by the pool instead of remembering to send in lunch money. And snacks. And water bottles. And juice boxes. I need to smell sunscreened faces, chapsticked lips and chlorinated hair instead of stale laundry that I forgot to put in the dryer. I need to take walks outside with my kids at 8:30 p.m. without a barrage of thoughts running through my mind about how quickly I need to bathe them, read to them and shuffle them off to bed (can I shove all that into 25 minutes? Sure! Step up the pace, girls!) I need to lay on a raft after dark and watch the stars pop out, one by one. Those stars, they love to show off, and I haven't paid the least bit of attention to them in months. I need to read something for fun instead of because it was assigned. Or because it's on the AR list. I need to take trips to faraway places where I can appreciate companionable silences. And really tall mountains. And lakes and oceans in which you can float and talk and laugh about stuff and reminisce (remember the time I saved you from that big wave, mama?). Because memories, they last so much longer than dollars.

No comments: