School's Out! (Bridget)

Whether we're ready or not, school is finished for the year. I went to the Kindergarten Celebration at Molly's school today. It's hard to believe she's not in Kindergarten anymore. I'd be really sad but I know Ethan is just around the corner. Molly showed no sadness whatsoever as she informed a friend this afternoon that today was her first day of 1st grade!! Who needs summer? I know, I certainly do.
I'm very glad that summer is here because I just wasn't able to get the things done around the house that I really need to do while doing school and keeping up with an actively crawling baby. I'm sure I won't get all the things done that I want to get done because of said crawling baby even during summer break but I'll definitely have more time than I had.
On the other hand, I always feel a twinge of regret when summer rolls around because I never feel like we've gotten enough "school" accomplished during the year. There are words the kids can't spell and books we never read and Matt might not know all his times tables cold.... I have to remind myself of the things we did accomplish. We added another member to our family and folded him right into the midst of us. We've all commented that we can't imagine life without him now. The kids have been especially great about giving him lots of love and attention. We've read lots of classics, both individually and as a a group and have been touched by some very special people within those classics. We've learned about honor, perseverance and other positive character traits through them. Father, Mother and Ralph from the Little Britches series have really moved us and made us want to be better people. I find myself thinking about how Mother would react when I'm faced with a trying situation. I think we've learned that education doesn't end when the school year ends but that we should be pursuing our interests and setting new goals continuously. We'll continue to read throughout the summer and our shelves are stocked with new enticing books for those lazy days in the sun.