Back to School | {1500 Miles, 1 Image}

We’ve been back at school for a few weeks now, and we are definitely settling into a routine. Gone are the lazy summer days of sleeping in; we now get up before 6 and leave for school while it’s still dark. We have a nice view of the moon in the morning and I see the sunrise on my way home from drop-off. Although this early morning rising is not my natural inclination, I do find that it’s nice to be up early. I feel more productive when my day starts early and it’s actually  cool now outside in the mornings which is so nice! I’ve been going for some walks after I drop her off and I can get to the gym earlier in the day during the school year too.

You might recall I was very nervous about sending her to a new school, but it is going really well so far. My daughter has adjusted nicely to her new school and made some friends. Drop-off and pickup are going smoother and she is always happy in the afternoon when I pick her up, despite a long day of learning. Her school is challenging her, but so far even homework has only been a minor battle. I guess we are in that sweet spot of getting into routine, but also still being excited for the new school year.

I hope the school year is going well so far for all of you!

Melisa’s daughter just started school yesterday! Head over to her post to see what back to school means for them.

At the library | {1500 Miles, 1 Image}

This week’s theme for 1500 Miles, 1 Image is At the Library.

My daughter and I love the library and we visit there at least once a week. I really love our new library system here in San Antonio. One huge bonus for me is the wide variety of audiobooks and ebooks they have available! I like to listen to audiobooks and podcasts in my car. This library has so many books available that are on my to-be-read list that I have canceled my Audible subscription for now! Our library here also has a read to therapy dogs program which my daughter really enjoys.

We visited the library today and my daughter picked out a few last summertime reads. I love to see her get lost in a book.

I’ve found our local libraries to have a plethora of fun (and free!) activities.What programs does your local library have that you love? I’d love to hear in the comments.

Now, please head on over to Melisa’s blog to see what her local library is like!

Final Summer Days

Summer is quickly winding down and with it, so are my lazy mornings and afternoons alone with my daughter.  For the first time in her life, my daughter is sleeping in. I swear she is still on Arizona time, as she is running consistently two hours behind what she has been running for the past several years both in the morning (which is kind of nice) and at bedtime (not as nice). It’s going to be a difficult transition next Monday!

She has had a long summer. Arizona schools start summer break earlier and Texas schools start school later. Therefore, she has had almost a full month of summer longer than her peers. Of course it’s been busy with moving, but we have also found plenty of time for fun and exploring.

One thing I’ve been focusing on these past few weeks is some quieter time together in the afternoon. We have been doing a lot of coloring and drawing.  Although I am not a talented artist by any means, I do enjoy drawing, doodling and coloring with her. It gives us a chance to talk or just be together quietly. It can be almost meditative.

 

(One of her favorite things to do is write stories. I’m sure there is a moral in this one somewhere.)

 

Our other favorite quiet activity right now is playing games. Her favorites are Clue and Scrabble. She can’t get enough Scrabble. As I write this, in fact, I just promised her another game this afternoon. I look forward to playing the “grown up” version with her one day soon.

This days are precious to me, although I know there is a time and a season for everything. It’s definitely time to head back to school for her, but it’s going to be an adjustment for both of us.

An In Between Space

Leading up to our recent move, we were living a weird sort of limbo for months. Waiting, waiting, waiting for something to happen. And once it did, it happened fast. Packers and movers came, school ended, we left Arizona, we moved into our new house all within a matter of about 2 weeks, start to finish.

Then, my husband worked mostly part-time (in-processing) for the month of June. So we still had plenty of time for family adventures and getting settled into our new city.

He started his job full-time in July. BUT my mom came out to visit for a week. We lost my dad earlier this year, and I really wanted to spend some time with my mom this summer. My daughter adores her. They played and drew and colored. Also, Grandma (my daughter calls her “Goma”) is hilarious.

And now, my daughter and I find ourselves held in abeyance. One of my priorities is finding ways to keep her busy and get her around other kids as much as I can. We go to the gym and pool a lot, and she makes friends instantly, but these playdates (or whatever you would call them) are short-lived. And I feel like I’m striking out in other ways, right and left. We tried gymnastics because she enjoyed tumbling in Phoenix. She didn’t like gymnastics at all so that lasted all of two classes. We tried a Spanish tutor because she really wants to learn Spanish, but realized that wasn’t going to work out either, as having a Spanish tutor a few times a week wasn’t going to be practical in the long term and her new school teaches Mandarin rather than Spanish (don’t get me started on THAT!).

It’s challenging because my daughter really derives her energy from being around other people. While I am perfectly content to spend my afternoon reading or watching a movie, her heart and soul lies in being surrounded by others. So we have to find balance.

But, I’m a little stuck on how to do this. When she was younger we had MOMS Club and MOPS and other such sources of companionship. Now she’s at an in-between age– too old for playdates like that, too young for many camps and other activities.

So last night I decided to stop trying. One month of summer remains before she heads to her new school (a topic for a different day). The rest of summer for us is going to be movies and ice cream, the library and the pool, the children’s museum and the zoo, the park and backyard exploring.

Lots and lots of mommy-daughter time.

This year is going to be a  year of waiting and surviving, pushing through it to see what happens next.

The story of our life in limbo.