Summertime and the Living is Busy

It's a busy time of year, and not just because of my kitchen renovation.

True, it has been daunting to remove nearly 20 years of hoarded items from a kitchen the size of a change purse.  I actually had to reach into the recesses of one poorly designed cabinet the other day to retrieve what turned out to be a nifty little highchair attachment.

A highchair attachment. My children are in Middle School. They've been slopping food all over the placemats at the Grown Up table for a decade. 

And what is up with my vast collection of coffee mugs?  Not only do I have the puny sized set that came with my casual china, I have at least 50 others.  The Hanukkah one (?) Pat got me at the Secret Santa shop in elementary school with the broken handle that I use as often as possible because of the sweetness of the gift.  The dribble-inducing cup from the little hamlet where Charlotte and Jack let us use their cottage for sweet Summer escape vacations. The ones that were hand painted with our names by a friend in Lars' camp commemorating some occasion in one of their children's lives.  And dozens of others with no apparent story. I could easily serve coffee to 60 people. I should think about doing that. Maybe after I get my enormous oven and can bake a bunch of coffee cakes to go with all the coffee I'd be serving.

And how many wine openers does a household with one adult need?  And for that matter, how many cutting boards, beer coozies, and gadgets that perform exactly one function can a person actually use?

But, kitchen renovation aside, I have a pretty full schedule for the next few weeks. All the field trips, year end ceremonies, concerts, school parties, scout traditions etc. My iPhone is buzzing to remind me of something nearly every hour.

But looming large are the graduations.  There are quite a few I will recognize this year.  I don't know where all the little kids went, but I am speechless watching them turn into young men and women and seemingly seconds later, turn away and sashay out the door into their new lives.

It is bittersweet for me. I have friends to support as their oldest children move their tassels to the side and embark on college experiences their parents are selling their souls to provide.  I have friends who are watching their children graduate from college and wringing their hands as they take a bolder, longer stride on the road to a life of independence. I have Scott, whose oldest daughter and her boyfriend are graduating together and headed off to the same college with as many hopes and dreams for their future as a couple as they do for their careers. 

And I have Charlotte and Jack, who are beaming with pride that their middle son, my Godson, is graduating from a prestigious prep school with honors, and spending the summer at the beach before packing his things to spend four years at an equally prestigious college. 

But first, there is The Party.