Where Love Grows

Goodbye Summer

"Grade eight, grade six and grade four." I handed the annual chalk board signs out to the kids and lined them up in the foyer. "I can't believe it." I snapped a few pictures before getting everyone out the door. "Have a wonderful first day, I love you."

I watched as they filed into the school and drove off, making my way to a magazine interview in the city. I met with Lorelei from Allure Magazine and we discussed my past ventures into fashion and style, if there was anything new on the radar and how I balanced being a working mom to three rapidly growing children. "Hunter and I always say, if this was all gone tomorrow, that would be fine because we have our children and we have each other. Our kids grew up on the tour buses and airplanes, they're so good at going with the flow. There have been some challenges here and there but that's life."

We wrapped up the interview and I headed to Sirius XM The Highway to talk to Buzz. "Happy first day of school Jenna!" He smiled, opening the door to the studio. "How's it going?"

We shared a quick hug before I grabbed a seat and headphones, "Things are good, I love the first day of school." I smiled.

"What does a typical day look like for the Hayes fam?"

"No day is typical, but generally through the school year we try to make some sort of routine. I am generally the one who gets the kids to and from school, we do homework together, dinner and the evening is kind of free reign." I shrugged, "It's pretty average."

"You guys were incredibly busy this summer, between the festival circuit, your own shows...and you have more shows on the way, yes?"

"Yeah it was busy but the kids had a blast. We've been really busy this year but it's been worth it and I love it. As for what's going on right now, Hunter is wrapping up some festivals on the road and we are gearing up because after Christmas, we are heading to Australia for two weeks."

"Wow - know I know Hunter has been to Australia, but what about you?"

I shook my head, "Never been, and the kids are equally as excited."

We wrapped up our chat and Buzz played Heaven Can Wait as I headed out the door, "Hope to see you soon!" I thanked him and headed to the office to see Courtney and sign off on the plans for Australia.

"Hey, how are you?" She opened her arms for a hug.

"Doin' well, you?" I sat at the glass table and we dove into business.

"Good. You guys had a fantastic summer." She smiled, showing me the papers with the business side of things, "And you have a lot to look forward to as well. Australia," she slid the paper over to me, "you leave Nashville on the thirtieth of December and return January seventeenth." I nodded, excited for the trip. "We have an Opry performance for you in  December." We touched on a few other things before I headed out again to get the kids from school.

"Did you guys have a good first day?" I asked as everyone piled in. The boys chatted to each other as Beckett had the same teacher Easton had in grade four. 

"I have four rotary classes this term," Sutton said, "they say it's to get ready for high school."

"Oh yeah? I think my school did that too." She told me her rotations were history, French, gym and science, the other subjects were taught by her one teacher. 

"Are you doing music this term?" I asked as we navigated our way out of the school lot and headed home.

"We don't have music until after Christmas, which totally sucks, but I am joining the senior choir." She pulled a flyer from her bag. "I need you to sign the permission form."

"I will do that when we get home."

"Is dad going to be home?" Beckett piped up from the back seat.

"No baby, not yet." He sighed, "Dad is working love, he'll be home soon, I promise." We got home and jumped right back into our routine. The late August air was warm as we strolled along the trail. The boys rode their bikes ahead as Sutton walked with Millie and I. 

"Jake and I talked," she said, breaking up the silence, "he said he wants to keep talking and that he still likes me."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Good," her gaze was looking out over the river, "it's just new, and weird. Like I see you and dad together and the thought of kissing someone makes me sick." She kinda chuckled.

"That's fine Sutton," I put my arm over her shoulder, "you don't have to kiss anyone, or hold hands or anything. You're still a kid, yes you're a teenager but don't rush okay. You have your whole life ahead of you to figure this out." We grabbed seats at the park bench as the boys ditched their bikes for the swings. "Before I met your dad, we both were in different relationships, and many of them. Your dad's lifestyle made it hard for someone to stay and when I was younger, I hated being alone. I didn't get a lot of attention at home, so I looked for it in relationships." Her blue eyes looked sad almost, but she was listening intently. "It took a bad relationship I was in to kind of, wake me up and realize I deserved the best. After a few months of being single, your dad walked into my Starbucks and spilled his latte on my clean counter top."

"And the rest is history?" She smiled, and I nodded.

"My point is, you have a lot of time, you may get hurt along the way but the right person will find you."

"How many boyfriends did you have before dad?" She asked as we headed back home, I put my arm around her and smiled.

"Don't worry about it."