Where did the break go to?

The quiet is deafening....
even with the TV's on for background noise....
my children are all gone...
back to school for the remainder of the year....
The holidays are over...

the tree and all things Christmas have been removed.
Playtime,sleeping in and eating poorly...
OVER.....

I am a bit sad---
sometimes life really does move too quickly.!
I want to savor those moments of unstructured life...
of just hanging with my kids--
playing games--

laughing
cherishing those moments for what they are
FLEETING!

With the start of a new year
it only serves to remind me of this fact.
We have now reached the oldest childs graduation year--

it seemed as if it was a long time in coming....
and yet....
I blinked my eyes and it is here--
in 5 short months she will be graduating
and while i will once again have all my kids home for the summer
it will be different.

We have started down the slope of the exodus...
some days i think i am ready for this
like when the busyness and stress are getting to me.
And then there are those other days--
like i had during break
where i enjoyed every--
I mean EVERY minute of my time with them.
Even cleaning was a pleasure...

I guess some things are just not as much fun by yourself....
Back to my solitude.....

.......at least i still have the dog to keep me company......