normal?

Apparently, our lives are back to normal. Our trip is over, and all of our company is gone (for another few days until the next round arrives). But my question is, after nearly a month of "not-normal," what constitutes a normal day anymore?

Back in the day before our influx of company and vacation, we had a pretty good schedule down. We'd get up, Bryce would go to school, I'd exercise, the little kids and I would run errands or get stuff done around the house, we'd have lunch and quiet-time, then pick Bryce up at school and either do after-school lessons or something fun. I'm totally used to running the show without Eddie (which means that the kids were accustomed to waiting for mommy sometimes), but for the last month, ever since school got out, we've had so many extra people around, that not only is our routine all thrown off, but all three kids expect their needs to be met immediately.

So, it's time to buckle down and establish a summer routine. My new brilliant (though exhausting) plan is to run before anyone else gets up. I bought those "summer bridge" workbooks and hope that I can bear to get both of the bigger kids to put in a few pages a day. And when I'm not going nuts and feeling up to it, I'm guessing that I'll be organizing play dates and mornings at the zoo and the beach and the park and the children's museum. As a kid, I remember summer as the kick-back time of year, but for a mom, summer is a lot of work.

--originally published 6/21/06