Ok, will someone please humor me and tell me I am not the the only one that was threatening to send my children to summer camp or summer school just a few short hours after the final bell rang for the last day of school?
On the way home from school that day, my two elementary school darlings bickered back and forth like they were each others' worst enemy. We moved the week before school let out so I shuttled my children back and forth the twelve or so miles each way. I had lots and lots and lots of drive time to reflect on my endless lists of things I needed to get finished before our eldest son graduated from college and we were hosting a party for a hundred people. We also had both sets of parents in from out of town as well as two birthdays we needed to celebrate. As you can see, my family had quite a full plate at the start of our summer vacation. So what’s a mom to do? Is it possible to keep your sanity while having your children home for the summer? Can a mom have a job, juggle her responsibilities at home as well as her volunteer activities, and go to the gym, be there for her husband, and keep her children occupied, happy and entertained during their break? How do you keep track of the doctor and dentist appointments, the soccer games, the cheer practices, and the date nights with your honey?
If you are like me, you have found the necessity of putting some kind of action plan into place.
I thought I’d share a few of the ideas that I have incorporated into our family’s lifestyle. I think the best tip I could give anyone is not to sweat the small stuff. I have to remind myself that I am dealing with more that just me and my way of thinking. Not every one sees things the way that I do. Rather than getting into a tailspin and bringing grief to myself and and my family, it is often a better idea to toss the “plan” or “schedule” out the window and enjoy the moment.
Probably the best thing I added into our kitchen was a dry erase calendar. I actually stole the idea from a friend of mine while having dinner at her house. She has lots of children like us and had scheduling issues. On the calendar, which is displayed in a really obvious place in the kitchen, is everything that is going on for that month. Doctor appointments, football games, dinner dates, everything. You name it, it’s on there. I leave a dry erase marker right next to it so any of the kids can put any of their events on there for us all to see.
My second favorite thing (I feel like Oprah) is my Blackberry. Now I realize everyone hasn’t entered the high tech age of cell phones and the like, but the Blackberry and the other PDA type cell phones are really worth their weight in gold. As soon as I am given an appointment or need to schedule anything, I press those tiny buttons, and put it into the calendar on my phone. It even tells me days in advance when I have something coming up.
Make dinners a light affair during summer months. Pick summer salads, light sandwiches and the like. Make doublers of things so you don’t have to heat up the kitchen. By all means, use your BBQ grill!
I also have always initiated my children’s help in getting our housework done. Part of the incentive to go and do “fun” was the “getting done” of the responsibilities we all need to finish at home.
Here are a few ways to pass the dog days of summer with your children. Be sure to put them all on your calendar!
Pack a lunch and head to one of the parks in your neighborhood. Go on the Internet and find a new one each week. Go exploring.
Pack up the swimsuits and towels and life vests and head to a community pool or a nearby lake. Take along a sack lunch and you’ve made a day of it.
Find a matinee to enjoy. Let the kids pick it out. Go ahead and trust them!
Keep your ears and eyes open for freebie tickets to the water parks. Often they have buy one get one deals. One year while listening to the radio, I found out about a promotion that was absolutely free. I just had to go to the park on a Friday. It was really convenient to do that when I got all six of us into that water park for free!
Many local churches host vacation bible school during the summer months. I have many good memories from those VBS days.
Most of all enjoy your tine with your family. It will be gone before you know it and you will be giving tips to your next generation on how to make it through.
Have a great summer!