This morning each of my children woke up before their alarm clocks went off, got ready for school, and did their chores without complaining.  Just yesterday it took constantly  repeating requests to get anything done.  But  they were so sweet this morning it made me rethink whether or not I really wanted them to start back to school.  There was a little lump in my throat when they entered their class lines, and as is my tradition I called my husband to let him know how sad I was our children were back in school.   So while cooking my way out of sadness with some tasty halibut chowder, and then a batch of granola I tried to decide if we met our goals for the summer. 

Our first goal of the summer was to teach both Nathan and Hailey to ride a bike and swim.  Somehow these two life skills were neglected over the past few years and this summer seemed like the perfect time to teach them.   We enrolled them in swim lessons and then set to the task of teaching them to ride their bikes.  Both learned how to swim but only one has mastered the bike.  

It wasn't easy watching them struggle to ride a bike.  We pushed them down a grass hill, ran after them with our hands on the bike seat until we were exhausted, and cheered for them.  One afternoon, it was more than I could take watching my children  turning little circles on their bikes and falling every single time they tried.  To keep myself from getting very frustrated  I sat on the swings far from the field and just watched from a distance feeling like a failure.   A few afternoons later Hailey started riding her bike as if she had been doing it all her life.  It took some effort to keep my tear ducts in check.  Later that week while Nate was at science club, Hailey and I packed a lunch, jumped on our bikes, and spent the afternoon biking, and having a picnic.  Our smiles that afternoon stretched from ear to ear. 

Our second goal was a little harder.  Nate wanted to learn Mandarin Chinese and Hailey wanted to learn
French.  Armed with a few websites (with audio) and some index cards. we learned a few phrases in each language.  Considering that I know neither language this feels like an achievement.   

While eating the halibut chowder for lunch I decided that our summer goals for the most part had been met.  My children can swim (sort of), ride a bike (one of them), and speak a language (a few phrases).   They feel happy with their accomplishments and that is what matters.