Bittersweet

I know we are already in the throes of summer, but I still have some layouts to share from right before the summer. While we are always excited for summer vacation's arrival, this year it was a bit more complex.  Of course now that the transition to summer is over, we are enjoying every free minute that we have. (At least I am.)

Last summer was so amazing from start to finish ( I was still scrapping about it in January of this year), that at the beginning of this summer, I was feeling a little wistful about last year. 

And with Max graduating from eight grade, his usual end of the year exuberance was tempered by the fact that he and his friends since kindergarten would be going their separate ways. I'm not sure why I didn't foresee that at all. I was just focused on the excitement of his being done with grade school. And maybe because each day at dinner I was treated to a litany of complaints about how his school was run, I did not think about the fact that he has spent the last nine years in one place, and with the same people, and that saying goodbye might be hard. In a way, I was glad that it was hard for him since, you know, it's nice to see your child grow into a thoughtful and sensitive human being.

Sam had a bittersweet ending to school as well, because his favorite teacher would not be returning to his school next year. I liked school (within reason) as a kid, I had lots of good teachers, but I don't think I ever loved one so much that I would have been affected by their absence (Except for my third grade Hebrew teacher. It was my mother, so it's fair to say I loved my teacher and I would have been upset if she left and did not return.) Instead of counting the days until summer vacation, Sam was counting the days until he had to say goodbye. Again, it was sad to see, but also it made me a little happy to know that he had a teacher that he cared about so much. Because, really, how often in life does that happen?

From here on out, there will probably be more straightforward, happy, summer thoughts, layouts, and photos, as I recount our adventures from our road trip.