First of all, if you are reading this through your email (because you have a blog subscription--see link or right sidebar to subscribe if you never want to miss a post), this may look a little different. That's because I just changed over my blog feed delivery service from Feedburner (which has always been a little jinky) to Mailchimp. I'm hoping that the end result for you will be a more beautiful reading experience. However, you will still not get videos or other widgets that I embed in the post, so if you're ever reading and go, "I think there's something missing here," try "visiting the site" (or whatever terminology they use) to get the full content.

That being said, since I just did it last night, I have no idea if I did it right and if it's actually going to work. This post is the test.

Yesterday morning, I received an automated phone message from my kid's school division superintendent saying that, due to the renovations at the school, my kids' "back in class" day would be delayed by a week, from this Friday to the next one. I got a little distraught at that news. Yeah, I whined. I'm not proud of that. I might be about to do it again. :-)

I love my kids, y'all. They are fantastic boys, and easy to have around. But I tell ya, when I had the house to myself for a blissful, quiet hour on Saturday afternoon (only the second time that's happened all summer), I felt like I'd just had a chance to get grounded. The kitchen got cleaned up--and I mean, actually cleaned up--and the house was tidy for at least fifteen minutes (by the time I finished) before my family came home and started messing it up again. It was like a little mini-vacation for me.

See, I have discovered that I have a very difficult time concentrating on writing when I know my house is in disarray. I also struggle to write when there are people around, which is why I'm a "write-at-home-not-a-coffee-shop" type of person. The only reason I'm able to write right now is because I've closed my office door and the only distraction I really have is the occasional kitten curious about the noise my fingers are making.

( . . . She said, right before multiple interruptions by the child who wants to repaint his room next summer and must discuss all the ideas right now. No, Jude, you may not paint your room black.)

So that means that, despite my best intentions to keep my "work" during daylight hours so I can spend evenings with my kids and husband, any writing I've done this summer (and there hasn't been a lot--mostly editing, and re-editing, and lots of re-reading of Finding Heaven) has been late at night. I've gotten time in with my kids during the day, but it's been tougher for my hubby and I to find quality time together.

So, as much as I never wanted to be one of "those" moms, I'm really looking forward to my kids being back in school.

But enough whining. Despite the total disruption to my routine (which I begrudgingly admit is probably good for me), we've made some great memories this summer and I got to spend a lot of time with my kids, my grandma (who now lives in my town), and also letting my kids have friends over, something I haven't had energy for the last two summers.

And honestly, since losing Levi, I put a much higher priority on that time with my kids and husband than anything else. It's pretty easy to ignore the "to-do" list most of the time and just bump stuff to the next day--it'll still be there, after all. I'm going back to my old mantra of "slow progress is still progress," and taking time to enjoy the important things in life while my other boys are still at home.

Now, I'm going to see how much of my super-to-do list (you know, the one that has accumulated from all that bumping) that I had intended to start on Friday can be delayed for another week so I can enjoy a few more "little moments" with my kids.

And maybe some big ones.

Happy last-week-of-summer, friend! What has been your favourite memory this summer?