One Day at a Time

Teddy's at his second to last exam. He's on track to get straight As with honor's classes his hardest year of high school. Lily's got a perfect report card too. Proud! She just left for her last day of middle school. There won't be any academia today though. She'll enjoy a graduation breakfast and then they'll practice for tonight's promotion ceremony. I am mostly excited for this transition. Middle school has not been my favorite. I mean the school was wonderful and the teachers the cream of the crop, but these years, particularly the last two, have been difficult. Especially so for my daughter who is an empath like me. I'm not in denial about the fact that just about all these same girls kids are going together to the high school, but high school is a very different animal. Things are going to change for every single one of these boys and girls. They will all be tested.

When I picked her up yesterday at 3:20, I felt equal parts relief and jubilation. There was no use or need for Kleenex despite the fact I've been here at this same time for the past 7 years first to retrieve Ted and then Lil. Endings almost always leave me weepy. Apparently, I'm ready to move on too. I'm not particularly a fan of the school pick-up line either, but that's a whole different story.

Next year they'll both be in high school. Ted will be able to drive his sister to school every morning. Joy! When we chose open enrollment 8 years ago, we committed to getting them to and from school. It was worth it even though the day we would no longer need to chauffeur seemed too far in the future to imagine. Well, it's here.

It's here and I don't have a Hello my name is Julie McCoy summer itinerary planned. I'm not the least bit worried about Teddy. He has a job and a car. I worry about Lily because she has very little planned and no car. I guess we're taking it day by day, which is sort of the way I've been living my life this past 6 months and I'm feeling pretty good about it. It being life.

We'll forge ahead and find our way...our groove.

 I only have 3 rules this summer.

1. Clean up after yourself.
2. Text me your whereabouts when you leave the house.
3. No using the B word. I have no patience for people who say they are bored. It's a luxury to be bored.

Oh, and one more:

4. Don't kill one another.

We're set-up for success, or at least survival.

I'm off to hit the trails on this beautiful morning. It's my last solo morning until September. Most years I hit pause right about now. I savor the solitude with an extra cuppa while I read and write, otherwise known as dreaming and purging. But the thing is that I've been getting an insane amount of peace and positivity from logging miles lately. If I start my day cruising through the woods along the river, I feel like I can conquer the world even if I only conquer the day.