To clarify the title, the battlefield I’m talking about is my day to day summer life with everyone out of school. I consider myself to be fighting the good fight. The painter I employed asked me…” What’s the longest you can speak without being interrupted by your kids?!” It was in an amused manner he asked. Without being overly dramatic, I’ll will say simply that this summer has been the demanding and challenging of my life. Despite the beat down, I’m usually in pretty good spirits. I’ve definitely been blessed to be able to handle more than I would be able to, especially when Eric is out of town. The messes, chaos and constant stimulation are exhausting. I told Mom the other day that when I’m old and feeble I want to be able to really appreciate I feel like I’ve earned being able to sit in an easy chair watching BYUtv and doing crossword puzzles. I am guessing that there are some other parents in the family reading this and thinking the exact same thing! When things get too stressful, I take everyone to Short Lane Ice Cream, similar to Shackleton ordering a round of tea for everyone when things were going poorly on his rescue mission. We have lots of fun too. Swimming, playing croquet, sitting on the porch, eating, taking walks, playing games, reading and watching old movies are some of our favorite things to do. We’ve also started experimenting making homemade ice cream. If I make it through the summer, I am going in for a 12-hour massage!
