Summer break just began for us, we are actually on day two, and I have very little planned. The kids will be attending swim lessons and then 'Camp Invention' for a week at the end of June, and we will visit my parents on Long Island (we stay for a week every summer), but other than that we are just hanging out.
There are moments when I feel like I should be doing more with my kids, taking them to different places and planning activities, but then I remember how all of that is totally not me and honestly is just too much. I will be happy with staying home, the occasional friend coming over to visit, and sleeping in late.
There are moments when I feel like I should be doing more with my kids, taking them to different places and planning activities, but then I remember how all of that is totally not me and honestly is just too much. I will be happy with staying home, the occasional friend coming over to visit, and sleeping in late.
My kids have no idea how lucky they are and what a full life they have here at our home. While they have more than I had as a child, farm animals, a pool, acres of woods to explore, and fun things to drive around the property, they are also living a simple childhood similar to what I had as a kid. They have a childhood that is not planned and controlled by me, one that requires them to be bored and then find something to do without my direction. They have a childhood that is not filled with daily activities where we have to rush around from place to place. They will look back on all of this and the memories will be plentiful, yet simple. They are still quite young and I know that in a few years this will change, they will want friends over often or want to go hang out with their friends, but right now they are each other's best friend and I am going to enjoy every minute of this (even the ones that are filled with frustration).
I think there is a lot of value in a summer that is not filled with activities and travel. We are so focused on giving our kids the ultimate childhoods, so focused on giving them every opportunity we did not have, so focused on filling up their time and coming up with fun things for them to do, but are these things really worth it? If we fill their time up constantly with exciting activities and trips they expect that, they expect to be entertained by us and learn to rely on us for everything. They are kids, they should be able to use their imaginations without the help of their parents, they should be able to play and amuse themselves without us planning out their days, and they should be bored.
I see posts from people and all of the activities that they plan for their kids on a daily or almost daily basis and I think how tiring that would be. I just finished a year of teaching and the last thing I want to do is plan a days worth of activities. I want to have a leisurely cup of coffee, I want to workout at 10 in the morning and not rush to get one in before dinner, I want to read in the pool while I occasionally remind at my kids to stop shouting since they are only a few feet from each other, I want to drive as little as possible, and I want to relax.
Here is to a summer filled with nothing special, a little boredom, a lot of free time, and (eventually) lots of wondeful memories for my children.
I think there is a lot of value in a summer that is not filled with activities and travel. We are so focused on giving our kids the ultimate childhoods, so focused on giving them every opportunity we did not have, so focused on filling up their time and coming up with fun things for them to do, but are these things really worth it? If we fill their time up constantly with exciting activities and trips they expect that, they expect to be entertained by us and learn to rely on us for everything. They are kids, they should be able to use their imaginations without the help of their parents, they should be able to play and amuse themselves without us planning out their days, and they should be bored.
I see posts from people and all of the activities that they plan for their kids on a daily or almost daily basis and I think how tiring that would be. I just finished a year of teaching and the last thing I want to do is plan a days worth of activities. I want to have a leisurely cup of coffee, I want to workout at 10 in the morning and not rush to get one in before dinner, I want to read in the pool while I occasionally remind at my kids to stop shouting since they are only a few feet from each other, I want to drive as little as possible, and I want to relax.
Here is to a summer filled with nothing special, a little boredom, a lot of free time, and (eventually) lots of wondeful memories for my children.
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