Back to School Count Down

You’ve got this! You almost made it.  Back to school is so close I can almost taste it.  What does it taste like?  Good question. I’m not sure I really know. All I know is that whatever it is I’ll be eating it alone and won’t be sharing.  Selfish. I know but sometimes the truth hurts.

Summer around here was hectic. I yelled too much, my kids had too much screen time and we probably didn’t spend enough time outside.  I didn’t go to the gym like I should have, and I only had real tan lines a few times that faded quickly (Thank goodness for my Desert Bronzer) I’m sure I worked too much too and should have had more “Fun” plans for the kids.   All of that being said we had fun camping, spent a week at the beach, went to Great Wolf Lodge, and even completed a few hikes. (For us at this stage in life they count as hikes if we make it there and back and no one has to be carried.) Success!

Everything is a phase…this is what my mom keeps saying…, so much so that I believe her.  Everything passes and in time your focus changes and you’re on to the next challenge or phase of life with your child.  It goes so fast…that’ what they say too…this one I’m on the fence about but I’m sure someday I’ll believe this one too.  

This phase has been hard. I find myself complaining more than I’m praising and it makes me feel awful.  I prayed a long time for these girls and even had three miscarriages before Elsie. She was so worth the wait and a dream come true.  I can honestly say she was 15 months old and I was ready to pop with Phoebe before I ever uttered a negative word about motherhood. That’s got to be a record, right? At the time I think I felt like if I complained someone was going to come and take her back because I wasn’t appreciating the fact that I was given this gift.  I remember it down to the second. I was in the kitchen and was holding her. She had been sick and wasn’t feeling well and she projectile vomited in my face and all over me.  I thought I would die and puke my eyes out but by the grace of God I didn’t. I made it through, and we lived to tell the tale.  I also got over it and she hasn’t done it since so she too must have been impacted by the event.

This summer was hard. The girls act more like twins than sisters 15 months apart and they are on top of each other hugging & wrestling or yelling in each other’s faces and hitting each other.  Nothing in-between.  The Herron Girls give 100% no matter what they’re doing! Add poor Levi to the mix and you’ve got a full-on Zoo.  The house is always full of racks of clothing, boxes and shipping bags - it’s an obstacle course and a hazard for children but again we made it through. 

Tonight, I asked the girls if they wanted to go to The Depot (What we call Home Depot) and they were thrilled.  I told them to go up and get dressed and we’d go when they were ready. What commenced was nothing short of comedy. It literally took them an hour to get dressed, pick shoes and decide what they were going to wear in their hair.  Each girl came downstairs no less than 3 times in an outfit only to go back up because they liked what the other was wearing better and were going to have to go change. In the end they came down in the matching outfits below.  You see I’ve dressed the girls the same ever since we had two…and this summer Elsie made a shift that she wants nothing that Sissy is wearing, and she wants something different.  I’ve followed her lead for the most part and just gone with it.  I think it’s funny that after all this back and forth we leave the house with them matching looking like magical unicorns. 

On the way to The Depot as we were passing 7-11 Elsie starts screaming, “Look Sissy it’s a Spicy Chip Truck, Look Sissy it’s a truck full of our favorite chips right there.  Mama, do you think we could talk to them and ask if they’d come to my Birthday?”  I mean is this real life.  Have my kids just had a heart attack over a Dorito’s Delivery Truck?  Yes, folks they have!  So, I did what every mother would do (who had my mom as a Mother) and pulled over immediately to take their picture with that truck.  This picture was followed by their first trip into 7-11 to meet the man that was delivering all the chips and check out his inventory. Both girls proudly grabbed their chips from the shelf he was stocking like it was Christmas.  Elsie was still in shock that I had pulled over, that they had their chips and that the store was the same as her Birthday (Obviously we need to get out more).  I told the man that they were their favorite chips and that taking their picture with their truck was probably the highlight of their summer.  Without a second thought he looked at me and said, “I just hope they stay in school, so they don’t have to drive that truck!”

Ladies I got in my car and felt like crying. It amazes me who God puts in your path when you need it. No one is where they want to be, everyone wants better for themselves and the ones around them.  We’ve all got work to do and we need each other to accomplish great things.   Keep dreaming and believing in yourself. It’s never too late to be what you want to be and become the best version of yourself. I looked at him and made sure he knew the truck he drove made my girls day and that I was sure a lot of other people he didn’t know were thrilled that they had what they wanted when they walked in the store because he had delivered it. 

This business constantly amazes me but it’s not where I want it to be.  Jenn and I were working on our Back to School Strategy today (while another summer miracle happened, and all the kids napped at once).  We’ve accomplished great things this summer -we’ve launched our website, made it through a hard season of mom hood and summer with kids under tow.  Some Boutiques can’t make it through the summer months let alone 5 of them.  We’ve got a full year under our belt with Jenn being full time and we made it.  That in itself is an accomplishment we should celebrate. We realize the boutique business is booming and we aren’t your only option when it comes to shopping so know we appreciate your support.  We’re just like you.  Hanging on a thread counting the days and hours until the bus comes.

Got get em Mom.  You made it and deserve the 5 minutes you get to yourself on Tuesday before you start #mombossing all over again. We have a lot to be thankful for and our Village of women that make us feel comfortable enough to complain about our children with mean the world to us. You know we love our kiddo’s and prayed for them and now we’re praying for the teachers that get to spend the school year with them.  Prayers change and each season/phase of life with our kids will pass. Thanks for being on the ride with us.

XO Rach