Okay, I have survived one full week of summer vacation. I get some sort of an award, right? Hell, only ten more weeks to go. (Question: how early can I have a glass of wine? Is, say, 2pm too early?)
I have realized something in the ten days the kids have been home. I need to change the way we once did things. I mentioned before that when it comes to our summer adventures, crafts, and my weekly plans the biggest thing is being able to go with the flow. And I realized I needed to flow in a different direction.
(Harrison in 2004)
The last time we truly did our weekly themes was three summers ago and my oldest was barely a teenager then. What a big difference THREE years makes!
(Jennifer in 2008)
(Josh in 2007)
There is no denying it: my kids are growing up and our daily life during the summertime is definitely different compared to the years past. I remember when I first started this I needed a way to keep two little boys BUSY during the long summer days (until Larry came home from work) and it provided me a fun excuse to take more photos and scrapbook. The boys were up EARLY and we got started EARLY...workbooks, crafts, activities, paperwork, outings. By lunch I was ready to sit down and relax a little while they rode their bikes or played with neighbor kids.
Today is sooooo not like that anymore. For starters, they don't wake up at the crack of dawn anymore. Half the mornings my oldest isn't out of bed before lunchtime. My middle son spends a good many days golfing or traveling with his best friend. The days seem to be going much faster and the only thing that seems to remain the same is the fact that I still want to sit down and relax by lunch.
I found myself feeling a bit frustrated, a bit overwhelmed, and way tired trying to get ALL of what I had "planned" into our days.
Then, the idea came for a change. An update to my plans.
Instead of trying to do something EVERYDAY (like I did when the kids were little) I will focus on doing stuff only two or three days a week and let the other days fall as they may.
BINGO!
I instantly felt better. Less frazzled in trying to keep everyone home and up and doing what we once used to do before lunch. Nowadays, that isn't always feasible. Sometimes we may need to do something after dinner or before dinner. And some days, we won't do anything but work in the yard or go swimming.
(Taken this summer, 2011)
It's perfect. And, it fits with our family and my kids who aren't little toddlers anymore. (Sigh.)
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