One Summer Off

Disclaimer: I don't believe that there is anything wrong with summer programs, nothing at all. In fact they can be wonderful. This post is not about 'summer camps are bad, staying home with your mom is better' - it's about what we need this summer. 

This March when the 'summer camps' brochure came in the mail I threw it out. I had already decided that we all needed to 'get off the treadmill of life' this summer.

Completely. 

I just finished my second year of teaching 4th grade; my second year after staying out of the classroom for 13 years. That alone would be enough to do nothing this summer.

But when you add in the life my girls have {although we are careful about what we allow to fill the calendar} I know that we all need a summer that refilled us spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

So even my Dad's amazing Musical Theater that I grew up a part of and that Abigail has been richly blessed by, we decided {with much thought, conversation, and prayer} to take a summer off.

My wonderful Dad understood and has been gracious about it. I know he will miss being with Abigail this summer and I will miss seeing him every day. And being in a musical is wonnnnnnderful. It was an extremely hard decision to make. But it was the right one.

We are even taking a summer off of the pool club.

See, I told you.  We are getting off of the 'treadmill of life' completely.

While we took off two big things that take up much of the summer {my Dad's play locked us into to 4 weeks, every day- as wonderful as it was, 4 weeks was a big commitment}, as the summer moves along I am open to Anna taking an art class if she'd like, or Abigail has expressed some interest in tennis. But an art class or tennis lessons we haven't even looked into yet, and if we do, we will only commit to one little week - just a 5 day thing that is an hour or so.

Is this forever? No it is not. Abigail might want to do my Dad's musical next summer and I am perfectly fine with that. We might join the pool club again next summer. It's just one summer off.

Will I hit mid July and think, ugh! I need those girls IN something!  Maybe. But that will be a passing feeling. And I know deep down in my core that we are making the right choices for us this summer.

We are still going on our big family summer trip and honestly, sometimes when we got to that part of the summer I didn't really feel like going {until we got there of course}
I longed for 'nothing' days. And they hadn't happened yet. I was always pushing them to the pool club {wanting to get our moneys worth} or tired from driving to the musical rehearsals and back. I longed for long days stretched out with nothing before us - just us.
We did have those days, a few short weeks of them after our big trip and before school started. But just not enough. Sooooooo... we decided that this summer would look different.

This summer I want to BE with them - not drive them, pick them up, watch the clock.
This summer I want to watch their faces and drink them in - time is going quickly and these summers won't last forever.
This summer I want to teach them how to cook.
This summer I want to teach them how to bake.
This summer I want to relax with them and show them how to have balance in life.
This summer I want to have Bible Studies with them.
This summer I want to explore parks we've never been to.
This summer I want to walk around cute Connecticut towns.
This summer I want to talk with them and really listen to them.
This summer I want to have long days of nothing and just all be in the same house together.

This summer we will fill up our spiritual, emotional, mental hearts to last another school year.
This summer we will rest.