Summertime

Summer vacation is here! And while my boys love to have some three months off from school, I've been noticing a slight wave of anxiety growing in the pit of my stomach. As my work at the hospital and teaching schedule changes I find myself wondering how I will accomplish my work while still being a loving mom to my boys.

So with that said, My boys and I have come to a decision about summer. And I share it with you because we all have responsibilities that beg for our time, attention, and energy.

So what exactly are the things that kids want? Would you believe there is a list of such items coming from children themselves?

When I stumbled on this list of what kids love their parents to do, I felt as if I had a chance. A chance to live so that my boys remember the summer of 2013 as one of the best.

A wise teacher named Erin Kurt happened to have the insight to ask her students what they most liked their parents to do with them. She asked this same question every year for 16 years and from these responses she revealed, “The Top 10 Things Kids Want From Parents.”

The Top Ten Things Kids Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them

1. Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.
2. Give me hugs and kisses and sit and talk with me privately.
3. Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.
4. Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
5. At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.
6. At night talk to me about about anything; love, school, family etc.
7. Let me play outside a lot.
8. Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite TV show together.
9. Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.
10. Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.

So based on this new-found knowledge, I've decided exactly what I want our summer to look like. Because the simple fact is this: I hold the power to determine what my family’s summer will look like based on the choices I make. But be warned, some of it may not look pretty.

Today there was …

{Less clean surfaces and more projects that reach across the table for hours...maybe even days}

{More sleeping in}

{And less drawer usage, more piles}

{Less keyboard time and more old-fashioned fort building}

{Less formal music and more playing of the tunes in our heart}

{Less sitting on the side and more jumping in to the action}

{Less time spent on how we look and more hats on unwashed hair}

{Less hurry up}

{More pause}

{Less watching Netflix and more watching of the clouds}

{Less time driving kids around and more time letting them drive}

{More baseball - Markus' first All-Star practice this year}

{More spontaneous, less seriousness}

{Less hours spent in the kitchen and more casual picnic dinners on the patio}

{Less baking perfection and more helping hands}

{More friends, less fighting}

{Less running and more unconventional forms of exercise like climbing fifty flights of stairs}

As you can see, a day in the life of our summertime is not always pretty. It's not always organized. It's not efficient or productive. And it's definitely not perfect, but I can breathe; and I can laugh, and play, and feel joy - which are impossible to do if I am too busy working, constantly trying to pick up the mess and stressing over details that won't matter ten months from now let alone ten years from now.

I vow to make this summer my handsome grown boys will remember as their favorite summer. 

They won't remember the summer they went to Disney World. 

And they won't remember the summer they went to Lake Powell or even if they ever go to Hawaii. 

It will be the summer of 2013 when we grew our own tomatoes and made fresh squeezed lemonade. The summer we had perpetual grass stains on the bottom of our feet.  

This summer will have more...

thinking of others

walks to the park with Molly

flip-flop wearing

play on the floor - board games and yahtzee

rainbow spotting

having good attitudes

patience

I come from a long line of overachieving workaholics. I have a tiny drill sergeant in my head that tends to drown out my inner voice with demands of productivity and perfection. I know three little boys who can hold me accountable for the summer to remember. And they even agreed to help me by helping more with chores, cooking meals and having positive attitudes with me and each other. All day long, we have choices we make on how we spend our time. Today's the day we became mindful of these choices, me and my boys, to remember things - not being perfect but giving them the perfect childhood.