The other morning, my five-year-old daughter climbed into my bed to snuggle like she usually does after my husband leaves for work. It got me thinking about all the changes that will be coming in a few weeks when she starts kindergarten.
I have my own company and have worked from home for years. So, I’ve been blessed with slow mornings and a flexible schedule for as long as I can remember.
In fact, when we signed her up for preschool last year, I intentionally selected an afternoon program in an attempt to prolong my lazy mornings with the kids as long as possible.
My husband and I had our three daughters in just over four years. So life has been hectic (to say the least) and time has seemingly passed by in hyperspeed since then. When I take a moment to actually think about it, this is the first milestone that has truly hit me in the gut.
Our oldest is starting school.
I teared up just thinking about how different mornings are going to look at the end of August. Instead of snuggling up next to her, soaking it all in, and not worrying about a schedule, we’ll be rushing to get her ready and off to catch the school bus.
Who knows when she’ll decide that she’s “too cool” to snuggle mom, and when my lazy mornings with all three girls clamoring to be next to me will be gone forever.
(Insert brief crying break.)
It’s for that very reason why I’ve tried so hard to enjoy a nice, slow summer with them. I’ve tried to savor as many moments as I can.
When the list of summer activities came out this past spring, I initially spent hours excitedly reading about each one. I was trying to decide how we could do as many as possible to keep the girls busy (and keep myself sane) all summer long.
I was THIS CLOSE to maxing out their schedules with every class, camp, and activity under the sun. But when it came down to plugging them into an actual calendar, I kept getting cold feet. Of course, there were trips I wanted to take and events I already had planned, but I wanted to leave some time to breathe and to have some good old-fashioned fun, too.
Savoring the Summer Before Kindergarten
It was then that I sat down with them and asked what they wanted to do this summer. Here were some of their suggestions, which really opened my eyes.
Summer Ideas from a 5, 4, and 2-Year-Old
- Go to the zoo
- Make banana bread
- Go camping with Grandma and Papa
- Paint our nails
- Go to the library
- Go to the volcano place (Thunder Road, haha)
- Make a nature box
- Go hiking
- Play with water balloons
- Make strawberry jam
- See Elemental in theaters
- Have a picnic in the park
- Go to a bouncy house
- Go to a pool party
- Have a play date
- Go to the beach
So pure and simple. They didn’t ask for horse camp or weekly dance lessons — just the basics.
So I begrudgingly decided to nix the 15 different activities I had bookmarked, and narrow it down. We ended up doing one session of swimming lessons at Concordia, a two-day gymnastics class at TNT Kid’s Fitness & Gymnastics, and a one-day dance camp at North Dakota Academy of Dance.
And you know what? That was more than enough.
It also left us plenty of time for spur-of-the-moment activities like playing pickleball with Dad, and hitting up every park we could find throughout the Red River Valley.
We took a lot of walks, played on the trampoline with the sprinkler running, and even caught the ice cream truck rolling through our neighborhood (a highlight of my summer personally, to be sure). We played in the rain and had plenty of lazy movie nights in the basement.
It was our first summer in Fargo and we also enjoyed the quintessential Fargo events like the Red River Valley Fair, the Downtown Fargo Street Fair, the Red River Market, and Fourth of July at Bonanzaville.
We’ve had so much fun, and I ended up appreciating the flexibility of not being tied down to a bunch of weekly activities.
As the days continue ticking down to her first day of school, I’m becoming more and more aware of the “little things” that sneak up on you as they grow up before your eyes.
Like how some of her dresses need to be hung on adult hangers now instead of the toddler ones I’ve used for years. Or when I look at something in the store and think, “That’s way too big for her,” but it ends up fitting perfectly.
She’s also riding a bike without training wheels now. And she hardly ever needs my help getting dressed or brushing her teeth. Speaking of teeth, she’s lost FIVE already (and is basically getting a weekly stipend from the tooth fairy).
I know this is just the first of many emotional transitions that I’ll go through as a mom, but man, it’s hard!
So, for now, I’m trying my best to relish every cuddle, every spill, every tantrum, and every sopping wet swimsuit I find on the floor.
The time for wild jam-packed schedules is coming, but for now, if you need me, you can find me in our backyard coloring with chalk and playing with bubbles.
