The "Last" Weekend

I knew it would come...the final weekend before going back to school.  There is still a small part of my brain that is in denial, the part that has allowed me to push aside the copies I should've already made and the posters I should have laminated.  But all those familiar feelings have sat on my shoulders this weekend, weighing me down.  The "I don't want to go back" feelings.  The realization that life is about to get very busy, and I don't think I'm ready for it.  The fact that I have to get up at 5:30am every day now and rush out the door to drop Ava off at daycare and make it to school by 7:00.  Ugh.

I have tried to cherish this "last" weekend though.  I began Friday with one last Panera bagel and coffee for breakfast, a lunch date with Jeremy and my mom at PF Changs, and a mani/pedi during the afternoon.

Friday evening was spent with friends, sitting outside on their deck eating hamburgers fresh from the grill, sipping limeade beers, and gobbing up pound cake topped with ripe strawberries and cold vanilla ice cream.

We chatted, lit the tiki torches to add to the festive mood, and capped off the evening by lighting a sky lantern, then watching as it grew smaller and smaller and finally disappeared from sight.

Saturday evening passed in much the same way, enjoying time with friends.  Ava got to hang out with Ella and Kate while the grown-ups assembled dinner, poured wine, and sat out on the deck in the balmy air. 

The girls especially enjoyed their cupcakes for dessert - Ava perhaps a little more than Ella, seeing as how she gobbled it up in about five minutes and had a face full of icing.

After an evening of playing outside and eating sticky desserts, it was bath time, and the two little friends splashed in the soapy water while their daddies gently washed and rinsed the dirt away.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly, and I soaked up every bit of time I could with my little girl.  I watched her carry around a baggie of Cheerios and two sippy cups at once; helped her into the deck chairs so she could sit like Mama and Dada; cherished the nighttime routine of teeth brushing and putting on pajamas and reading stories; let her run naked around the house - which led to two peeing-on-the-carpet incidents...

And all the while, those nagging back-to-school feelings prevailed.  I couldn't shake them; I've never been able to and they return each year as the first day draws closer and closer.  You would think that after eight years of teaching, I would be used to this, but I'm not.  It's hard to go back each and every year.  I love my summers - the freedom, the extra sleep, the lack of stress - but they always come to an end, and this school year, I will try...oh, I will try so hard, to look on the bright side.