{"id":12249,"date":"2013-08-13T11:39:20","date_gmt":"2013-08-13T18:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/momservations.wordpress.com\/?p=12249"},"modified":"2013-08-13T11:39:20","modified_gmt":"2013-08-13T18:39:20","slug":"going-at-life-with-eyes-wide-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2013\/08\/13\/going-at-life-with-eyes-wide-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Going at Life with Eyes Wide Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Momservation:<\/b> Summer coming to an end is like getting water up your nose after the perfect cannon ball.<\/p>\n

\u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a<\/p>\n

OMG! This was, like, the BEST summer EVERRRRR!<\/p>\n

Okay, sorry about that. I vowed to live this summer with my kids carefree and full-tilt like a 12-year old. Mission, like, so totally accomplished! I\u2019ll SnapChat you my selfies!<\/p>\n

Wow\u2026harder than I thought to get back in working-mom mode.<\/p>\n

School starts in two days, and for the first time ever I\u2019m actually sad that summer\u2019s coming to an end. Normally, I\u2019m giddy like a kid on Christmas to get my kids out from underfoot, back to productive days without the background bickering, unleashed from nearly three months of trying to keep kids entertained. I will not confirm nor deny that I may have sent a thank you fruit basket to the San Juan school district.<\/p>\n

But this summer I had good fortune and a change in perspective collide. I was able to put on hold my major writing commitments and I realized that I only had a few summers left with my kids. At 12 and 13 years old, the majority of the time I have to spend with my kids constantly with me has passed. Not only will they be heading off to college in five years, but as friends become more encompassing, I probably won\u2019t be seeing them for much of the summers that are left.<\/p>\n

*Ouch* Hang on a second while my heart gets over its panic attack\u2026<\/p>\n

So I recognized time was running out to take advantage of and appreciate the gift that comes with having kids: slowing down and reliving the joy and excitement of summer vacation and the endless possibilities it promises.<\/p>\n

Plus, I just really like these kids of mine\u2014they\u2019re fun to play with!<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a>
On our Slurpee run on 7\/11 free Slurpee day at 7-Eleven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So when that last bell rang in June, we hit the ground running on the Summer of Living Like a 12 year-old. We stayed up late and slept in late. We went to restaurants and started with dessert. We woke up without a plan and let the day have its way with us. We went to every 7-Eleven we could think of on free Slurpee day. We instituted Fun Wednesdays and invited our friends to join us at places like Raging Waters water park, SurfXtreme indoor surfing, Lazer X Fire Til U Tire lazer tag, Country Club Lanes bowling, Folsom Aquatic Center water park, Golfland Sunsplash miniature golfing, Sky High indoor trampolines, and the State Fair.<\/p>\n

We had endless hours of swimming and playing with friends, we went houseboating with family, camping with friends, had a big party for Daddy, and said \u201cyes\u201d to every opportunity.<\/p>\n

For two months and ten days we lived in the moment and it was glorious.<\/p>\n

But now it\u2019s back to responsibilities of work and school and like a 12 year-old kid, I just don\u2019t want summer to end.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll take it to the wire here\u2014probably use that Raging Waters season pass one last time the day before school starts. But I did one last magical thing last night by myself to commemorate a summer well-spent.<\/p>\n

I set my alarm and got up at 1:30 a.m. to see the last night of the Perseid meteor shower<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I almost didn\u2019t get up for this annual August shooting star show and ritual\u2014I knew it would be hard to top last year\u2019s experience of witnessing it over an alpine lake with two dozen of our camping friends, lying on our backs under a brilliant canopy of stars, oohing and ahhing over the exciting flashes of light streaking across the sky every few minutes.<\/p>\n

I bundled up and slipped outside, deciding against trying to cajole my sleepy family to join me since I didn\u2019t plan on being out long.<\/p>\n

Nearly 15 minutes passed as I laid on my back in our backyard scanning the light-polluted sky, beginning to despair that conditions weren\u2019t right for me to witness this amazing light show and growing concerned I was more likely to get skunked.<\/p>\n

And then I saw one. I brilliant streak of light across the night sky so beautiful and amazing you feel fortunate and breathless to have seen it. Over the next hour I saw nearly a dozen, the city lights affording views of only the most brilliant meteors\u2014but worth the wait for them. And instead of worrying about getting skunked, I suddenly became more aware of the beautiful sonnet of chirping crickets, the quiet rustle of leaves from a gentle breeze, the smell of dewy grass, and the comforting damp warmth of an early morning summer day.<\/p>\n

When I climbed back into bed Hubby groggily asked me, \u201cWas it hard to keep your eyes open?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I told him. \u201cYou\u2019re afraid to close your eyes because you don\u2019t want to miss a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in that moment, in the after-glow of my wonderful summer with my kids, I realized viewing the Perseid meteors shower was a perfect metaphor for getting the most out of life: With your eyes wide open (perspective), you won\u2019t miss a thing.<\/p>\n

Perseid Meteor Shower Metaphor for Life<\/b><\/p>\n