My children are gone.
They filed out of the door one by one this morning...back to school after a jam-packed spring break in snowy Utah.
They left a tornado in their wake (it takes a day or two to get back on track with jobs). Piano books are strewn across the living room, remnants of french toast cover the counter. Piles of laundry surround me and the house is quiet except for the first load swishing away behind me.
Although I am thankful for my little window of time to fill the empty refrigerator, open the mail, answer messages, finish up a chapter of a book I am turning in to editors, catch up on Young Women, blah blah blah, I'm empty without those five children at my side. None of us are quite ready for school to start...for schedules to squelch out our family time. I'd rather reminisce about watching my kids follow Dave like little ducks down the slopes, and getting to soak in cousins and friends.
But I better pull up my boot straps and get to work. I'm inspired by Amy Chua in the "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" to be a little tougher on my kids (yes, a little tougher, not crazy tough...but she does have some really good points). I'm cramming in the end of the book before I host book club about it tomorrow night...wow, lots of thoughts on that one. I'll leave you with a little food for thought from her:
"Sometimes I wake up in the morning dreading what I have to do and thinking how easy it would be to say, 'Sure Lulu, we can skip a day of violin practice.' Unlike my Western friends, I can never say, 'As much as it kills me, I just have to let my kids make their choices and follow their hearts. It's the hardest thing in the world, but I'm doing my best to hold back.' Then they get to have a glass of wine and go to a yoga class, whereas I have to stay home and scream and have my kids hate me."
Whoa! Like I said, lots to discuss.
Ok, I'm off to Costco.
