This weekend will . . .

. . . be bittersweet. Summer camps are over and all of our staff is leaving after our meetings tomorrow. That makes life a little lonely and boring around camp. But at the same time, I have more traditional hours (at least until fall stuff starts) and the pace slows and allows for more family time, less rushing and a little more sleep. I have such mixed feelings. I usually crash for about a week after camp is over . . . emotionally and physically. I don't really have time for that this year.

. . . bring my first grocery shopping trip since early May. Starting next Monday, we don't have breakfast or dinner at camp. Usually, we have full meal service until Labor Day weekend, which meant that I've never had to cook meals from mid-May until mid-September. I've been spoiled. I'm not sure what it's like to cook a meal in the summer . . . maybe we'll do more grilling than usual.

. . . be my birthday. I'll be 31 on Sunday. I can almost hear you gasping audibly.

. . . be productive. Jack's going to stay at my parents' house for the weekend and Kyle and I are staying home and trying to complete all of the unfinished projects we have. We were going to work on replacing carpet and flooring in our house, but decided finishing what we've already started would be wise. Actually, Kyle will be doing most of the physical labor, while I'll be doing some design work, cleaning, crafting (um, we'll see about that one) and catching up on photo editing. Oh, and working on finishing touches for Jack's room. It's coming along slowly, but I'm really excited about it!

. . . be a mini-vacation. Like I said, Jack will be away for the weekend and while I suspect I'll miss him terribly, I will not miss the "in my face" wake up call at 5:30 AM. I feel mildly guilty saying this, but I can't even tell you how excited I am to have a weekend at home alone. And I'm sure I'll be super excited to bring him home on Sunday. Kyle and I are hoping at some point to get dinner and see a movie without having to worry about what time the babysitter needs to leave. Then again, we don't function well after 10 PM anymore. Like I said, I'll be 31 in a few days (and Kyle will be 30 at the end of the month).

. . . be a wake up call about how soon this baby will be here. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I had this timeline in my head: Winter camps, vacation, baseball season, summer camp . . . get ready for baby. We're in the final stage and I've done virtually nothing to get ready for this little guy. I hope if he reads this someday he'll know that my lack of preparation for him is no reflection on my excitement to meet him, nor my love for him already. It is, however, more of a reflection on what it's like to live the "camp life."