It has been a great summer. We have gone from extremely busy to extremely bored in a matter of days. We have camped, swam, hiked and biked. Hubby, Meg and Mita have golfed it up and we all had a great time at King’s Island, playing license plate bingo (still need North Dakota and Hawaii), and at Ethiopian Culture Camp. I have taken countless pictures of the summer and I made a Photo Book with a few of them. Of course after I ordered the book I realized that I left out all pictures from King’s Island. I hate it when I do that. You can see the book here at my Shutterfly Site.
In looking at the pictures I have noticed something. I am always in the back. Most of the pictures are of my kids from behind. It made me think of my role as a mom. Always in the back, coaching them on, nagging at behavior, watching their successes and watching them fall off bikes. Here are a few of the pictures I am talking about:
When we were up at Geneva on the Lake and I was at the end of the bike line I started thinking about how symbolic it was for our family. Obviously, I’m not the biker Hubby is and I don’t like to lead, so the end of the line is my comfort zone. But it also lets me see my entire family. I don’t have to worry about where they are or what they are doing because I see everything. Hubby leads the way and encourages them to go faster, protects them at crossings and is the adventure leader of the family. I get to stop and walk with them when they are tired or fall. I can yell out encouragements and accolades (a few nags as well) when they need them.
One day I want to do an album of my kids growing up with all the pictures from behind. A mom’s view of her family growing up, learning and starting their lives.
We all like to be in the front every once in a while, but my few years bringing up the back will fly by and I plan on enjoying every minute of it!
