summer break

excitedly, i get caught up during the year with my kids in the countdowns and the anticipation for summer break…but in reality, summer around here looks much like the rest of the year for my family. there are still “school” nights and routines, long work days for me and daycare for them. growing up, my mom was a teacher so summer break meant getting to stay in the care of her during the summer. most of my memories involve roaming the neighborhood with my sister on our bikes, building forts in the woods and swimming until the lifeguard kicked us out at the end of the day. adventure fueled my heart.

we were able to sneak away for two days on an adventure of our own this summer. i took the kids to our favorite waterpark and we stayed in a cabin overnight. the “camping” part was a first for them. the vacationing alone with them was a first for me! we had a blast. we explored. roamed the campgrounds after the waterpark closed, sweaty and covered in dirt and old sunscreen, until dark. the kids played with other kids, made up their own games, absolutely loved the tiny cabin “fort” and had s’mores for dinner. they consulted one another and conjured up the next adventure to embark. my heart nearly exploded watching my children on this adventure, the nostalgia it flooded me with was overwhelming.

it seems that parents struggle with how to let “kids be kids” these days in a world that is changing and a culture where busyness and over scheduling prevails. these challenges are often on my mind. this last school year, i decided on no extracurricular activities, granted, that decision was selfish in origin, knowing that i would most likely not be able to juggle a full time job, managing the home and an extra activity involving after school practices and weekend games. so we just played. we sought mini adventures and i believe it was the best decision for my family. we often found ourselves at a playground in the evenings, playing with strangers that quickly became new friends. we invited neighbor kids over to play in the backyard. we shared dinners with friends and even broke bedtime rules on occasion for special movie nights. the kids didn’t ever ask for more activities or for sports practices or anything extra. we just finished our first true season of organized sports: swim team. the short but very intense and busy season lasted just a few weeks and spanned from the end of school to beginning of summer break. my kid flourished in the experience but since it’s been over, she hasn’t asked once when the next swim team will be. but honestly, the chaos of the commitment brought out the worst in me! it was stressful! it seems that every bump in the road of parenting reveals a deeper appreciation for my own parents, for the selflessness they displayed in raising my sisters and me.