Back to School Shock

We've got two weeks til school starts.

I am in shock.

See, last week at this time, I had it in mind that there was a month until school started. This is because I am challenged by anything calling for a modicum of common sense and counting, which includes looking at a calendar and determining how many weeks left until it's time to send the boys packing.

Then on Thursday, I actually put my pointer finger on the page and jumped one week to the next, upon whence I realized I was off by a week. The fact is, summer is almost over.

Mind you, I'm not complaining.

And summer isn't really almost over. This is North Carolina. Summer will hang out for another two months, maybe two and a half. Heat-wise, we're entering the very heart of summer right now, with daily highs rarely dipping below ninety and often creeping up toward 99.

But psychologically speaking, summer is in its death throes. Two more weeks of lounging about (and not even that for Jack, who's in a camp this week and has to actually get up and dressed before 8:30). Two more weeks of the pool and long games of Wii baseball after dinner. Two more weeks of feeling guilty about not planning more educational, morally edifying, spiritually satisfying activities for my lovely children.

Two more weeks of boys arguing about who gets to push the inside elevator button.

Really, this summer hasn't been so bad. Oh, yeah, sure, being sick for ten days now (yep, still sick--now I'm thinking that I was sick with something else before I picked up the strep) hasn't been a picnic, and there've been a few patches where I put too much on my plate and felt pretty stressed, but here's the thing: no Big Summer Funk. Thought the Big Funk was happening two weeks ago, but turned out it was just prelude to the Long Virus. Major, major difference. I hate being sick, but I hate being funked out worse.

So I leave this summer with no hard feelings. And I head toward the fall with a pocket full of big plans. There's a book I have to revise, and that will be fun, having left off writing (other than this blog) since June 1st. There are Christmas presents and curtains to be made. There is a house to be attended to, a dog to take on long walks, a lunchtime knitting group I can attend once the boys are safely ensconced in the classroom.

Two weeks left. The marathon of summer days almost over.

If I can just make it through without having to buy another bottle of sunscreen, I'll consider this summer a complete success.