Lessons Learned From Summer

As we enter the last “official” weekend of summer, I thought I’d reflect on some things I learned this summer.

1. There is a good reason high school and college kids are lifeguards. As we sat at a local pool enjoying concessions, we watched the kids jumping off the diving board. Oh my word! I about had a nervous breakdown watching! I would have blown the whistle for just about every jumper. Moms would not make good lifeguards!

2. Bike riding is fun! I couldn’t tell you the last time I was on a bike. My oldest learned to ride without training wheels this spring and she and I were able to go on some great rides together (the nice weather certainly helped as well!). It was nice to be able to spend some one-on-one time with her.

3. It’s okay to stay up late. As I mentioned earlier, this was really the first summer that we let the kids stay up late and to my amazement, it went well! No meltdowns (or should I say, not an increased amount of meltdowns) and we all had some fun summer evenings together.

4. Some days are meant for playing. On several occasions, I skipped laundry, housework, meal cooking, etc. to just sit outside and read while the girls played in the slip-n-slide and guess what, the house did not fall apart and everyone in the family was treated to a much more relaxed mom.

5. Don’t over think dinner. For some reason I feel like I have to prepare a wonderfully balance, delicious tasting meal with loads of variety and I work hard to find foods that go together well. Guess what-the kids are just as happy when I throw hot dogs on the grill and serve it up with watermelon and carrots as they are when we have steak and twice baked potatoes. Wait a minute. They are happier when we have hot dogs. I need to stop trying so hard.

I’m sad to see summer go but hope to carry along some of the lessons learned into the fall. I hope everyone has a safe and restful holiday weekend!