I am moving out of my house in two days.
Two.
I know.
It’s crazy.
My life is in boxes right now.
The only thing I am able to locate with any certainty is my children.
And if they stay still too long,
I’m not promising I won’t bubble wrap them too.

But this afternoon we took a break.
From the packing.
And the taping.
And the labeling.
We took a break to make some jam.

Because the strawberry season in Oregon is short, but oh so sweet.

Because we are out of the freezer jam from last year.

Because, apparently, making homemade jam for several consecutive years turns your family into jam snobs.
My children now refuse to eat store-bought jam.

Because homemade things are lovely.

Because jam makes us happy.
The end.

I don’t understand a lot of things about boys.
Really, what girl does?

I was raised in a house with mostly girls…three of us sisters, one brother.
My husband, on the other hand, had four brothers, no sisters.
So when we were expecting our first child,
I prayed for a girl.
God, please, just give me one girl.
And we had a girl….Alyson.
And then another…Claire.
And then the third time around, there he was.

Sam.

Another girl came along later…Hope.
So Sam is clearly outnumbered our family.
But he holds his own.
There isn’t a sport he doesn’t like.
Or a video game he won’t play.
Or a gross body sound or odor that he doesn’t think is funny.
You get the point.

But as we have approached adolescence (Sam’s 12 now),
I’ve been wondering.
And worrying.
Just a little.

Will I be able to parent a boy at this age?
Or will it just be too much testosterone for me to handle?
I do believe I may be ill-equipped for what lies ahead.

So I was a little surprised yesterday when he said,
“Mom, we should go for a walk soon.”
I said, “Sure!”
Thinking…I’ve got lots of stuff going on right now…maybe later….
But Sam had other ideas.
“What about tomorrow?”
“At 7?”
“Umm…7? As in the morning?”
“Yep!”

Well, how could I turn that down?
I didn’t really have any other plans at 7 am.
Except the ones involving a pillow.
And a blanket.

His younger sister quickly asked to get in on the action.
She doesn’t really like to get up early, but doesn’t want to miss out on the fun, either.
But as I agreed she could come,
Sam’s excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
“Mom, I was hoping we could do this….just you and me.”
I think my heart melted right then.
But I had already agreed Hope could come.

This morning was a different story.
When I tried to rouse her out of a heavy slumber, there was no waking up.
So it was me and Sam.

On the path by the river.

Walking.
With a little bit of running thrown in for good measure.

We talked and laughed
and breathed kind of hard.
And I thought to myself,
This is going to be just fine.

Oh, change.
I’m not really a fan.
Mostly I’m a fan of routine.
Of rhythm.
Of the carrying out of a good plan.
Of steady.
Apparently, I do not always live in reality.
Because life doesn’t go down like that.
At least not at my house.

On this first day of summer vacation,
we are saying goodbye.
To 3rd grade.
And 6th grade.
And sophomore years in both high school and college.
Hello 4th, 7th, and Junior years.
Those changes don’t seem too scary.
Of course, they’re not exactly MY changes.

We’re changing seasons soon.
Goodbye, Spring.
Hello, Summer.
Now, I do live in Oregon.
So that is only a theoretical change.
If we’re lucky, summer will actually appear sometime in July.
(Please come out, sun. We miss you.)

After having our house up for sale for nearly a year,
we just signed the final papers to sell.
We’ve lived in this house for 15 years.
That’s a long time, people.
Two of my kiddos don’t know any other house.

So soon we’ll be saying goodbye to Grove Street.

And hello to Timberbrook.

On the personal front, I’ve been coping with some health issues.
And some medical tests.
And doctors appointments.
And bloodwork.
It’s possible that you just read all that and thought….is she 90 years old?
I’ve wondered that too, recently.
Nope, not 90.
But received a diagnosis last week of Celiac Disease.
Oh, great.
One more change.

Goodbye,  lovely Tollhouse Cookies.
Hello…..rice crackers?

So here’s my challenge for the summer.
To go with the flow.
Embrace new things.
Step out into the unknown.
Could be fun.