Goodbye Summer, Hello School

Well, it is that time of the year again where parents breath a big sigh of relief, and kids just plain sigh. School time is just around the corner for many - for us it starts on Monday, August 15th. It seems to be earlier and earlier every year. Anywho - I honestly can't say I'm not ready for school to start - our summer has been a bit unusual...not bad, but not good by any stretch of the imagination. From my last post I mentioned my Father-in-law was in bad health. After over 40 days in the hospital fighting pancreatitis, his body finally shut down and he passed away on June 3rd. My husband was already up giving his mom moral support, and my parents had my kids at their house. I had to tell them over the phone that their Paw Paw didn't make it. Not the best conversation to have with a 7 1/2 and 6 year old. It was HARD. Then while my parents had the children at their home I drove up for the funeral. It was a nice service, and it was good to see everyone. Afterward I stayed a few days to help my Mother-In-Law with household chores and yard work. Then it was off to get the kiddos. In July we all went to the beach house again this year at Edisto - it was nice, but with my FIL's recent passing there was a bit of a damper on the beach mood. We had a good time, but I could tell my husband was edgier, the kids more restless, and my MIL kept to herself a lot....understandable, but still not the ideal vacation. We still had a nice time and tried to make the best of it. The kids and hubby went to visit his mom mid-summer, and I had the house to myself. That was a nice week for everyone. The kids, hubby and MIL stayed busy and did lots of fun activities, and I...oh, I got to enjoy a week to myself...well, mostly. My mom came down for a couple days and painted my sons room, and we got to go shopping and hang out...which was great. But those days to myself...oh they were heavenly! I got to watch what I wanted to on the tv, I got to eat what and when I wanted, sleep without the tv on!!! My hubby has to have the tv, and I like a dark room...it was great! Although, I was very happy when they returned home. All in all, the summer hasn't been great for the kids - they were home with daddy most of the time, and most of their friends were either out of town or at camp. We did go to the pool a few times on the weekends, but most of the time was just spent at home. I am taking off Friday so that we can do something fun as a family before they have to go back to school on Monday. I feel it's only fair to do something, considering the summer they have had. So...I feel a visit to the water park in order. Woohoo! Nothing better to beat the dog days of summer. And then ice cream...