Summer is here...

...and with it come the three H's.

Hostility. Horrific boredom*. Hours of togetherness.

The girls are trying to get used to the idea of being home all day long...together. It's not an easy process, but I try to remember that it is a process. One of adjustment and change - not something that has come easy to eldest girl in the past, but which this year is proving to be even harder on middle girl. Maybe it's an age thing - those preschool years can be rough. You hear about two being a terrible time. And you foolishly think that once you get past those terrible twos that you are going to be on easy street. But, then you hit the trying threes and the mumble-fours (I don't dare use that word on such a family-friendly site). Middle girl seemed to sail through the two's and three's and the attitude and the boundary-pushing didn't rear its ugly head fully until four. She is nearing six and we don't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. Except in our own little minds where the mantra that continues to hold is: this too shall pass...eventually.

Middle girl is usually, well....in the middle of the fights that have been popping up like a plague of weeds in a well-tended garden. The general chorus of the day is middle girl arguing that her little sister is taking toys away from her, following her around too much or making annoying noises
or that her big sister refuses to play with her and thus she has 'nothing to doooooo.' (Can you just feel the whine in the last part of that sentence?) The eldest and youngest have had their squabbles too, but those seem to be far fewer in number.

This weekend we tried to keep them busy - on Saturday, an afternoon trip to the site of their summer camp experience where we explored the grounds and went swimming, and on Sunday a trip to the movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda (very cute movie, btw) and a game of Monopoly (our latest family craze). There were times they were asked to 'find something to do' because I am not the parent who tries to fill her children's every waking hour with non-stop entertainment. I'm one of those mean moms who actually makes them go play with a room full of toys or enjoy a bit of fresh air and sunshine in our big grassy backyard complete with kiddie pool and wooden play structure - along with the toads, interesting bugs and butterflies. Personally, I want need some time now and again to get stuff done and have a bit of a break. But lately those "breaks" are frequently punctuated by repeated shrieks of "OW! stop it!" and "leave me alone!" and a variety of tattletale phrases.

I do realize this is the transition time between school and summer. A time that I have increasingly dreaded ever since eldest girl started going to school. Once they get into a rhythm things do go a lot smoother, but right now they need a constant referee to their insanity and I'm just ready to throw my striped shirt and whistle in the trash and head for the hills... Or maybe I should just follow Susan's advice and start my day with one of these (she emailed and let me know that they are great for brunch...how early can I realistically start my day and still call it brunch?) and a say a prayer that I can survive this latest transition.

After all, summer doesn't last forever...right?

________________________________________________________________
*The phrase "Horrific boredom" is a relative term which is defined in different ways by the author and her offspring.