It’s 6 a.m. The sun is cresting over the horizon to be welcomed by the blissful and melodious sound of birds, and all is right with the world.

For about 37.2 seconds.

“Mom, he hit me!”

“Andie, she isn’t sharing!”

“Mom, he’s licking his hand and I think I’m going to throw up!”

And so begins the Foley house summer morning routine: a multi-child cacophony I’ve been fortunate (?) enough to preview since Memorial Day.

Preview, I say, as my daughters are five years apart in age, and my youngest yet cares about little more than from where and when her next meal will come. This early induction into the woes of summer vacation comes, instead, through a pair of nephews whom my mother watches alongside my two.

The lot show up in those early morning hours, and the struggle begins. How shall we entertain a group of four five-and-under little ones while maintaining some shred of sanity today?

My complex little family unit is not alone in this trial, of course. In the coming weeks, area stores, parks, movie theaters and restaurants will brim with those of us battling the break in routine, those of us searching for something, somewhere that will keep the words “mom,” “dad” or “Meme” out of a child’s mouth for a length of time longer than five minutes.

My fellow warriors, I see you. I see you standing, tight-lipped and weary-eyed, as your hordes toddle excitedly towards the concession stand. I see you shaking off sleep from that park bench, or maybe — just maybe — smiling with relief as the bickering bunch forget that they’re breathing one another’s air long enough to enjoy each other’s company.

And in that smile, I see you, like me, take pause to remember the joys of summer vacation from the perspective of a tiny human, when summer was not a test of patience but instead a reprieve from scholastic expectation and stress. In those treasured months, we swapped out academic lessons in exchange for memory-making, often with a little valuable life learning sprinkled in as a bonus on top.

Perhaps you, like me, take this moment to think of just how quickly those magical months slipped by, until they were all but gone forever in exchange for year-round jobs, responsibilities and expectations.

So here’s to ungodly early morning arguments, to complaints of boredom, to ventures out into the public wherein we question our abilities as parents alongside our sanities. We’ve seven and a half more weeks to soldier on and make some memories. Let’s make the most of it!