Family 2015

Family 2015

Monday, June 25, 2012

I think Summer is FINALLY here...

Yah, yah, we have been out of school for two weeks already, but what a 2 weeks it has been!  We were just as busy, maybe busier, than we were at the end of school.  But, life happens like that sometimes and you just have to do what you have to do.  I have been soooo looking forward to today though...the beginning of relative quiet and calm for a few weeks.

Once when I just had the girls, I heard a Mom of older kids make the comment that she wished her kids were little again so she could actually stay at home and get something done.  I smiled politely, but inwardly I was seething.  Apparently, she doesn't remember what it's like to have a gaggle of small children at home, I thought huffily.  Get something done indeed!  I can't even go to the bathroom by myself! 

Now, I get exactly what she meant.  During the school year, it is unheard of that I stay at home all day.  It literally never happens and often I have to pick up and leave the house 3, 4, 5 or more times to get the kids where they need to be and keep up with all that is required of me to run this house.  Let me tell ya, it is HARD to focus on finishing a task when you are constantly required to stop and leave the house.  So, I apologize to that Mom so long ago for my internal snarkiness - you were so right, dear lady.

So, summer is amazing for me.  I only work for 2 weeks out of the summer and those 2 weeks don't start until the middle of July.  I am blessed with kids who sleep in - and I mean until 10 or 11.  I actually have extended time to just be quiet, to reflect, to pray, to get myself ready for the next marathon (school year).

I am really trying to impress this idea on my kids too.  Yes, we do some fun things during the summer, but I bristle at the notion that they need to be entertained every second of every day.  Actually, I think that is an awful idea - for anybody, but especially for kids.  They need to learn to think their own thoughts, to be comfortable being quiet.  They need some time to think about how they fit into the universe and to be amazed at grass, flowers, the sun, the breeze.

"I am bored," is rarely heard in this house; not because nobody ever is, but because they know they won't get any sympathy from me.  No.  They will hear, "Good.  There's nothing wrong with being bored.  Go lay down and think. Pray. Just be." 

Life in this day and age is busy, there is no way around it.  It is so important to take those moments of peace and reflection whenever you get them.