Last Bit of Summer

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am sentimental. Perhaps I have even mentioned it before. So when I saw this on Facebook the other day, you can imagine it brought a tear to my eye. I had seen it before, had posted it before, but for whatever reason, it really spoke to me when I last saw it.

Maybe it is in part to being a little more tired lately. Or trying to settle and feel settled while still enjoying time with my kids and doing things for and with them. Or maybe because it is just that I look at my children and realize how true this is and that they are indeed growing up a little more each day.

Jaret has handled the move with such a positiveness about him that makes me so proud. He has embraced this move, despite the friends he misses in Calgary. He looks at each little thing and is so grateful for it. Take one evening this week as an example, I decided that while Terry was out, to take the kids for a walk down by the river and for ice cream at The Bus Stop. I parked the truck on Spadina and we walked to a statue that I let the kids climb. Right next to that was some ladies dancing to music playing which he thought was awesome. Then we walked along the river toward our ice cream destination and Jaret kept saying what a great night it was and how thankful he was that I brought them down to the river for ice cream. Such little things in my eye but to him, they meant so much. It made me stop and think of life through the eyes of a child and how simple life can and should be.

And Kirra is indeed growing up. She is not shy about showing her personality. Which is good because she is making friends by being a friend.  And her sweetness is coming out these days with her Daddy.  Before he left for work this morning she said, "I love you, Daddy and you will always be in my heart."  With the move, Jaret and Kirra have been spending lots of time together and I am so impressed with how, for the most part, they are getting along.  Or at least Jaret is being kind in letting her tag along, even as he is going to play with some boys on the street.  With all this tagging along, Kirra is getting on her bike and has become really confident in her biking abilities in just the last couple of weeks of moving.  I guess it helps that the street we live on is completely flat - are you surprised?

Anyway, as we only have a little bit of summer left, we are trying to enjoy it as much as possible with the simple things in life from cooling down (spray parks, pools, and jumping on the trampoline with water underneath) to going for walks to the park to spend time with each other and make new friends.  The long weekend means more time together as a family.  Tonight we hope to take in the fireworks at River Landing and then tomorrow will head to Regina after brunch with some of my cousins.  Sunday is the Labour Day Classic and I will be in the stands with my sister cheering the Riders on to victory.  Life is good!  Especially when we slow down enough to enjoy the moments and not wish them away too soon.