summer daze

I am sitting here at 2:30 in the afternoon, my oldest is at work, and my 3 others are playing assorted computer games. The house is in fairly good condition given the fact that just the minimal housework has been done today, and most importantly, everyone is happy, the 2 youngest are playing together, and no one is crying. I remembered back to a time when I was the mother of 4 small children, one on the way, and the 6th not even thought about out yet, and it was summertime. I woke up all of the children by 8:00 and we spent the next several hours doing "school", learning new things, singing songs, followed by lunch time and quiet time, sometimes headed off to the library for story time and assorted other things. I think I have wisened up over the years, and other than one of my sons who tortures himself each morning by running with the high school cross country team, no one moves until close to 10:00 and I have the house to myself. As i drive to pick up my morning medical transcription tapes, I see children outside playing tennis and riding bikes and have to smile to myself as I think of my kids at home, fast asleep. They do read and practice piano 4 out of 5 days of the week, and we usually go do something fun in the afternoon, trying to squeeze in as much play time before our missionary leaves in 27 days. We stay up way too late with tournaments of Monopoly (which i won last night) or Phase 10, having sleepovers in the family room or living room, whereever everyone happens to be, consuming bowls of popcorn or whatever else we have available (last night it was homemade no-bake cookies baked by my 9-year old and my 12-year old, and being pretty darn lazy. We might not attempt to learn French this summer, and we won't even talk about the family garden, or lack thereof, but I will treasure this time forever, for school routines will come fast enough, and I, for one, intend to soak up every opportunity to relish in the ease of summer.