In Summer...

Bees’ll buzz.  Kids’ll blow dandelion fuzz.  And I’ll be doing whatever snow does in summer. Tee hee, ok so I couldn’t resist.  Moving on.  Summer is here!  This is the time of the year that if you are a parent (especially a stay-at-home parent), you might find yourself in one of two categories:

Parent A: You have been counting down the days for weeks now and it’s finally here!  You have already made a list of all the things you plan to do with your kids, including craft projects, trips to the splash park, and of course, the library’s summer reading program.  You’ve spent countless hours, exhausting the likes of Pinterest and parenting blogs in order to come up with plenty of “Free things to do with your kids” ideas.  You’re excited.  You’re ready.

Parent B: You’re still in denial that the school year is over.  You are wondering how in the world you’re going to get your grocery shopping done, now that you have to lug a few kids around with you each time.  You’re dreading the inevitable sibling arguments that will occur more frequently now that they’ll be home all day long.   You’ve begun asking around and compiling a list of the area’s VBS schedules so you can be sure to have your kids enrolled for at least 4 or 5 weeks of the summer.  You’re freaking out.  You’re not looking forward to this at all.

Whichever parent you may be, I have thoughts to share with you…thoughts, certainly not from an expert parent, but rather from a parent who hears plenty of other parents talk about this very dilemma…or opportunity.  I am also around elementary-aged kids each week, and I see the effects Parent A or Parent B has on their lives.

I’ll begin with Parent A.  You mean well.  You’re excited, and you should be!  After all, you automatically gain like 7 more hours with your kids each day.  This is precious time that should certainly not be wasted.  That said, you don’t need to fill up every single moment with activity.  The projects and the Pinterest ideas…those are great things to do!  You don’t want your kids complaining all summer about being bored.  However, don’t discount the value of simplicity.  Some of my greatest moments with my kids have been those that were unplanned (ie: spontaneous episodes of imaginary fishing excursions on lakes of hot lava).

On the flip side, Parent B, take a moment to think about how quickly time is slipping away.  Before you know it, your child will be graduating high school, and perhaps moving out of the house.  The reality is, once they’ve reached that age, our influence as parents typically becomes more difficult.  So this is your time.  Summer is an incredible gift…an opportunity we have to make memories, create conversations, and just simply have fun with our kids. 

Sure, they may get on your nerves sometimes.  You wouldn’t be a normal parent if this never happened.  But that’s part of what you signed up for when you became a parent!  Don’t remedy this by sticking them in art camps and VBS, just to get them out of the house.  Instead, find activities you can do together that allows them space at the same time.  Swimming, for example-perfect!  Go to the pool.  They can swim on their own for a bit while you take a breather in the lawn chair.  But once you’ve regained your sanity, get in the water and have a contest on who can perform the biggest cannon ball.

(Disclaimer: I am not against VBS.  I am, however, against shoving your kids in every single one you can find.  VBS teaches valuable stuff.  But so do you, as their parent, with everyday life lessons.  Pick 1 VBS…maybe 2…and if you’re doing your job as the primary disciple maker of your children, they will learn what they need to know about Jesus without hitting up every church out there.)

So, I intended to do some sort of wrap-up from my “recent blog series”…I give it this title lightly. You could hardly call it recent since I think the last time I posted was over a couple months ago.  And the word, “series” typically implies that each part is spaced out in a timely fashion.  Well, if you’ve read them, you know that’s not the case.  It took me almost an entire year to complete a 7-post series.  Needless to say, I’ve got a lot going on, and blogging…while I enjoy it and wish I could do more…is not one of my current priorities.

All that said, I’ve been thinking about the “Over Time” series a lot as summer is approaching.  (And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I encourage you to check them out, beginning with “Time Flies.”)  You see, my 4 ½ year old, Oliver just completed his first year of preschool.  Last fall, he began attending half days, 3 days a week at a fabulous school.  It was a wonderful experience for him, and he is already excited about moving up in the Fall to K4.  I, however, while I agree it has been good for him, am already apprehensive about K4 because he will be going to school 5 days a week.  This may not seem like a big deal, I know.  But it seems as though “Time Flies” is an understatement, actually.  I mean, after K4, it’s on to Kindergarten…and as you all with elementary kids can attest to, it zooms by after that!

My point is this: your time with your kids truly is slipping away.  And while any real parent knows that the responsibilities we possess are overwhelming and exhausting, we also have been given the greatest gift…the opportunity to influence another life for the better.  So if summer is, in fact, causing your blood pressure to rise and your gray hairs to become more plentiful, take a moment to remind yourself that the craziness is totally worth it.  Maximize these next couple months.  Teach your kids.  Play with them.  Enjoy them.  Give them (a little) space.  Have loads of fun with them!

Happy Summer!