If you have read my blog over the years you know one
thing for sure: I love it when my kids have friends over the house or cottage.
The more the better. The messy house,
being eaten out of house and home, the noise ..does not faze me in the least.
I continuously get comments from other parents when I
have gangs of kids over to the effect of “poor you -you will be exhausted!” The
opposite is true. It energizes me completely-and puts a huge smile on my face throughout
the day most times. I love every second of hosting my kid’s friends at our
house or cottage. Love it.
And I am not a social butterfly at all. I love more 1-1
for myself or small groups and enjoy being alone a lot. I don’t like big groups
at all. But when it comes to my kids I adore it. And just kids-no adults….just me,
my hubby and a bunch of kids.
I am so comfortable in front of most my kids friends-they
are almost like my own. Today I fell asleep on the boat when one of them was
telling me a story!!!
This weekend is annual kick off to summer and they all
have two friends (Chase has 1). It is GORGEUOS weather here and we have swam
and tube and jumped off cliffs and slid down slides all day long. (well they
have anyways) Sometimes in subsets and groups and sometimes all mixed. Lots of
kids of all ages and sizes in and out of the Jacuzzi and the HUGE lunches and dinners.
Chores divided between kids and three girls helping hubby right now with dinner
(great summer pasta. sausages and chocolate cupcakes with smores and marshmallow
roast this evening.
Tonight is a big poker game for the guys (and one girl)
and I will do a ping pong tournament or Scattergories with the other two
girls-or watch a movie with them if I get luckyJ)) The girls have opted to sleep outside not
on the sleeping porch but the sleeping dock!!!! I am so proud of my girls!!!! They
are all so slim and one so tiny they are going to fit all one this one little
bali bed and greet the ducks in the summer sun. I am so happy they like this
hobby of mine.
The girls and I just had a great soak in the Jacuzzi and
I told them a bunch of bird stories from my childhood (bird being stuck in my
hair, bird dying on my head-you get the picture) they continually make me make
them laugh. Today they were harder to make laugh so I had to resorted to
yelling “penis!” and then of course that did itJ)) this has been a game for years now…and I
always win! I have said it before and I will say it again. I ADORE these girls.
My daughter has the BEST friends ever.
Today I sat mostly in the front of the boat as we turned
circles for tube rides and just kept thinking “We are so so so so so blessed.
Our children are so so so blessed to have these people in their lives. They are
all-each on unique, special wonderful people. There is nothing in life that
makes me happier than to see my kids in wonderful friendships, sharing,
learning and growing.
Friendship is a priceless gift that is timeless. Friends
may change over time-but I can tell that all three of my kids put importance
and effort into their friends and cherish this as much as I do in my own friendships.
I am as happy for this as it is a very important value of mine to pass down. Family
is super important…friends are way way up there too.
Why this post is called “please don’t press pause”? For
years everyone around me and books and experts have been saying it won’t last
that my kids will come to the cottage…the cherished family time won’t last as
they go into the phases of jobs and works and girlfriends and boyfriends. And
that scares me to no end. First of all they have been all wrong as it has
lasted 2 yrs. beyond what was predicated (as of 14 yrs. old) but I can see it
getting harder and changing. But it is not disappearing-it is evolving. Less weekends
all 5 of us shorter times with eldest going home on the bus….weekends cut short
by activities, less time just our family and friends more often, But so far
this is beautiful and I still love it as much.
But I know there will come a time. Late adolescence and
before they are married that there will be that lull-that pause where their
lives are theirs and their schedules their own and this thing we have built
won’t be as important for a number of years (nor should it be) And that pause
is what I dread..alot.
I don’t want pause!
This is what Hubby and I are made for..and if I am right
so are our kids. I don't want them off to college and university far away….or
moving to a different place in the world. I want us all to be together at the
cottage as often as we can. Just like we are today. Living our lives beside each
other with each other but also including other people we love too.
This is what I am made for. This is what Hubby and I am
made for. Work hard-Play hard. We work all week…to get this on the weekends.
And this is worth every last ounce of energy, time, and frustration and commitment
has our kids and their friends surround us in this beautiful place once in a
while. Would we like to do this all the time? Never? What makes
it all so special is that it is not our normal life …it is our vacation life.
Our weekend li..Our rewards.If I have to spend more than a weekend or a
vacation with this gang (or even our own kids!) on a daily basis-I would die of
boredom-it is great because it is special.
Today was beautiful. And hey you know what?
We deserve a little beautiful coming our way.
