Time Flies

Sniff, sniff, my baby started second grade today. Time is going so fast, it seems like just yesterday he was crying as I left him at preschool for the first time, and then this morning he was up and out the door to catch the bus. Although I much prefer the kid who is excited for school over the crying preschooler, I can't believe how independent he is. I told him I wanted to wait outside for the bus with him and he told me that was ok for today, but tomorrow he could wait by himself. I am guessing it must be embarrassing for your mom to wait for the bus with you. I guess I better stop blinking now because he will be grown before I know it.
Since this was our last weekend before school I wanted to do something special that I knew Kris would love. So I did something I completely dread. We have a cabin in the woods in the Upper Penisula, Gary loves it, I hate it. It is a small cabin with no electricity and an outhouse. Not exactly a woman's paradise, but I know that Kris loves it up there, so I planned a weekend trip. We woke up at 3am Saturday morning and hit the road, we pulled in the driveway at 8am. It was raining and chilly out and I thought "oh what did you get yourself into?" We unloaded the quad and the boys instantly jumped on and left me there in the rain, not wanting to go inside because I was sure it was going to smell funky, I sat in the truck, being a whine-ass. The rain let up and I decided that I was not going to be a whine-ass all weekend, I came all this way and I was going to have a good time. I jumped out of the truck and tried to start a fire. It took me a good half hour since I was working with mostly wet wood and very little paper. But I got the fire started and a grabbed my chair and sat by the fire in complete bliss. A few hours later the boys came back drenched to the bone, I got them all clean, dry clothes (even though Gary made fun of me for packing them) and Kris and I tended to the fire. Later Gary took us out to dinner and when we got back around 9 we were all ready for bed.
The next day was more of the same, the boys went out on the quad looking for good hunting spots and I stayed behind and sat by the fire. It was perfect. I read my book, Kris gathered sticks, we cooked hotdogs and smore's. I could not have asked for a better weekend to end the summer vacation. Later we went fishing and Kris and I teamed up, I would catch the fish and he would take them off the hook. Poor Gary didn't catch anything. Kris had a great time, and even though I was sure I was going to be miserable, I had a great time too. So good in fact that I have planned another trip for a fall color tour in a few weeks.
Sometimes I think that you need to decide to make the best of a situation and go with it. I know that I could have made this weekend miserable for my whole family, or I could make it a great trip. I am so glad that I decided to make the best of things because I realize that the older Kris gets the less time I have before he is grown up and moving on with his life. Maybe I am more nastalgic because Bill started his senior year today, or maybe it is just that I see how fast time flies. Either way I don't want to miss anything.
I think Gary is thinking the same way. His baby is a senior. I know that Gary is excited and scared for him. He tries so hard to help Bill make the best decisions and see further than tomorrow. It is so hard having a teenager that is just as subborn and bull-headed as his Dad. I hope that Bill has a great senior year, and I know that his Dad and I are doing everything we can to make that happen, but I hope too that he works hard and sees where he is headed and is successful. I hope that he doesn't get a too bad of a case of senioritis.
This is a big year at our house, wish us luck!