in the margins

Upper Side of Santorini
Gioldasis Dimitrios
via

I think a bit about how much life happens off-blog, off-social media, and how the online world is really the highlight reel or the marginalia.  In this season of life, most of what is happening in our family isn't my story to share, and, as my children age, I am relegated more and more to the sidelines.  A witness, if you will, of all the goodness and growing pains they experience.  Instead of changing diapers and physically removing my more daring children from danger, I am reminding people to do laundry and waiting up for kids to arrive home late at night.  It is a glorious and bittersweet process. 

This summer is an intense one; the entire family will be in Greece, but not all in the same place or at the same time.  Our oldest child is there now and will be home soon. Our second oldest leaves tomorrow and will be there the whole summer.  Father, the younger kids and I are delighted to be making a pilgrimage to Chios during the feast of Agia Markella, whose intercessions helped speed healing for one of our children this spring after a scary diagnosis.  We're also going for a wedding, and hope to make a few side trips, one of them hopefully here.  Still, there's a lot up in the air, and I'm uncomfortable with the unknown.

Before Greece, though, there are sleep-away camps, an eighth grade graduation, and homeschool pre-reading. After it there's a crunch to get college and high school people prepared for the fall, and a certain twelve-year-old to his grandparents' for his coming of age trip/project.  Our oldest will be a senior this year (weren't we just moving her into her first dorm room?) and is exploring her options for Life in the Real World.  

There are still a few projects on my list for the summer.  I need to re-rush another chair and start my littlest child's ten year quilt.  There will be pockets of time in all the busy-ness to do so much!  I simply need to make a list and proceed...