The End of Summer: At last, I can work in peace again.

It's been a long summer. Yet, it went by so quickly and the kids are back in school and busy with homework and activities like it never even happened. Thank God.

The older I get, the more I realize that summer is like Christmas. So much anticipation, a blur of excitement and chaos, and then a large sigh of silent gratitude when it's over. September has become my new favorite month.

I didn't always used to feel that way. For my entire life, summer has been my favorite season. For one, my birthday is in June. Then there’s swimming, hiking, trail running, lounging by the pool with a book, biking, dining al fresco, margaritas on the patio, barbecues with friends, warm evenings and long days, ice cream, fireworks, festivals and outdoor concerts.

Funny though, how my opinion has changed now that my children have become of school age. Now, summer is a constant juggling act of trying to maintain the steady flow of deadlines (clients don’t take summer off, nor do the bills, after all) while managing the babysitter, the changing daily schedules, changing daily activities, camps and all of their unique requirements, and young children who must stay up until all the other neighborhood kids finally go inside at 9:30 PM. Or later.

Yes, summer’s over, but I’m getting tired just thinking about it again. The last few weeks of summer vacation are particularly straining. They remind me of the final days before my wedding: Oh, we forgot to do that! Shoot, we forgot to invite them! And then of course, the kids complain about their rotten choices for the day (no amusement park? no movie? no three-ring circus?) or fight over silly bands and who got the largest scoop of ice cream. They fret that school is about to start again -- yet secretly, they're about as excited as the parents. Secretly, the kids wonder what happened to their parents, who now look like walking zombies from staying up late every night due to their incredible lack of focus during the day.

We are three weeks into the school year now and for the parent who works at home, it's heavenly. For a solid seven hours, the house is blessedly quiet. There are no children storming into my office demanding better snacks or worse, better babysitters. Productivity is at an all-time high. The kids are in bed at 8:30, no questions asked.

There is just one small problem: the weather is still quite summerlike, and my bike and running shoes are close at hand.

Until next summer arrives, may peace, quiet and productivity reign!