Well, it’s great.

It feels like everything about those early, soul-crushing years of having children was a terrible investment which is now paying off in a big way.

Here is an incomplete list of things we have done today:
1. Sat together reading quietly in the living room.
2. I went to the gym. The kids stayed home.
3. The three of us went to a playground together. I stood up exactly one time in order to throw away garbage. I corrected behavior exactly zero times.
4. Went to the library. We all went our separate ways and met up later.
5. Kids got smoothies. No drama.
6. We shared a cookie. No drama.
7. Kids got haircuts. No drama.
8. Kids vacuumed and dusted the main floor. No drama.

The fact that I am even sitting down at my computer and composing this blog post should tell you something about how this summer is going. These elementary years are a whole new level.

Now, the kids have only been out of school for a couple weeks. I might have to write about this again in August and see how I’m feeling then (my guess: more worn down and frustrated with the state of the house). But there is no way it will compare–even slightly–to how I felt back when I was a full-time stay-at-home parent to two toddlers. Back then I felt trapped, exhausted, overwhelmed. The days were so long and unending.

Time is going so quickly now; it’s frightening how the hours are slipping through my fingers. Now I just feel grateful that I have the luxury of spending this summer with my kids.