I love the summer

Love it. Looooove it. Right now nothing is better than summer.
No, not the heat, not the humidity, none of that. Low 70s would suit me fine 10 months out of the year.
It's the pace. I love the pace. Summer has the best pace ever, followed by Christmas break. Every day is so much better with the kids home from school. (Don't get me wrong, school is great. I love school too in a different way. Anxious back-to-school feelings come right along with anxious Halloween-fall-leaves-jacket-weather feelings. But summer is king.) I love starting our day at a leisurely pace, rather than a rush to get out the door. We can kick it in our pajamas for an hour or so. No sweat. Swim practice doesn't start till 9.
Elementary school gets out at 2:45pm. What an awkward time to divide the day around. The school-year mornings go by too quickly and by the time lunch is over with the little kids I feel that dinner time is approaching like a ticking time bomb and there's still so much to do and of course it all really needs to be done before 2:45 because that's when things need to stop so I can chat with the big kids while they eat their snack and then give them their marching orders for what things they need to get done around the house plus homework, plus piano, and by then it's time to start cooking and where did this day go?? Why did it seem so busy and yet there's so little to show for it? Summer. Aaaahhhh. A whole day! With everyone home the days seem somehow three times as long--in a good way. Like we have all the time in the world to get the house clean, even deep clean a room or two, and still have time to play a game or make something or play outside and dinner time isn't even close yet. The little girls are much (much) happier with the big kids around to play with. School days make them lonely, bored and cranky. Summer days make them think they're in heaven. Me too. Summer days are relaxing, yet productive. Best pace ever.