The other morning, shortly after the kids woke up, we sat around the table eating breakfast with one another.
“What would you like to do today?” I asked them.
“Doesn’t matter,” Harlan replied.
“Let’s go see a movie,” yelped Avery.
“Ummm….play?” Macks answered.
This is our summer. Schedules are thrown out the window. Days are filled with anything we want them to be. It’s a time for us to be together and enjoy the company of our family.
I’ve always been a stickler for routine, especially during the school year. Perhaps that’s why during the summer time I like to let it all loose. We don’t have to be anywhere or do anything specific. Most days Macks’ nap is taken in the car and bedtime is long after our usual scheduled time to go to sleep. And I love every second of it.
As the kids get older, their schedules get more and more busy. Both Harlan and Avery are in school full-time, Macks starts preschool next fall. All three kids play sports. On most days during the year, I feel like I’m in my car more than I’m at home.
The summer gives us the freedom that we need. No longer are we stuck to two days ( if we’re lucky) on the weekend to try to push in that family time, we get it everyday now. The other day after taking the kids to the beach, Harlan asked me what day it was. She chuckled as she asked because she said she always knows what day it is, but since it’s summer all her days seem to run together. Little did she know it was one of the biggest compliments she could give me.
I want her days to run together. I don’t want her to worry about homework, having to pick out her clothes for school the next morning, if she has to return her library book. All I want her to focus on is making sure that she makes the most out of these days of summer.
In the next few weeks I’ll take the kids and our dogs on our summer road trip down to Florida. As nervous as I always am for driving that long with the kids by myself, I cannot wait for this time together. We explore the east coast of the country and play games to keep us entertained. It’s the big trip of the summer that I am most looking forward to. It’s a chance for us to make so many great memories together. It’s summer. It’s a time for us.
