Is it just me or has Summer become too complicated? Whatever happened to the simple lazy days of Summer when as kids we could stay outside and run through the sprinkler all day, drink water from the garden hose and get sticky from eating too many Popsicles? We'd spend hours splashing around in a wading pool in the backyard. Now everyone has to not only have a pool membership but to participate in swim team. There's a 'camp' for just about anything you can think of. Violin. Art. Gymnastics. Karate. Etiquette. Really? We are paying someone else to teach our kids manners?
Don't get me wrong, I have sent my children to a few of these in an attempt to keep them happy over these long, blistering days. But I have to wonder how much is too much? Will they even remember what they did or that I was always in a rush to get them to their next activity? Will they wish I just let them be kids?
Growing up there was a time in my life when my family had to move in and live with my grandparents. They lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house in small-town Idaho. Imagine my grandparents, my parents and my brother and myself living in an un-airconditioned home together for months. It was a hard time for my family and both of my parents had to work. And my grandparents worked. So what did my parents do with my brother and I over the Summer months? Nothing!
And do you know those were some of the best days of my life?
We'd come up with our own games, write stupid songs together, fight over who got the last Shasta and spend hours with our imaginations outside while eating copious amounts of fresh raspberries straight from my grandma's bushes. Of course times were different back then. But the best part of the day was when my family would come together in the evenings. We'd eat our dinner outside because it was cooler than being inside without air conditioning. We'd spend hours playing in the yard together. It wasn't unusual to stay outside until the sun went down. And it was always mine and my brother's job to clean the kitchen. We'd work fast so we could dash back outside and be with the ones we loved.
It's those times that I think about when I long for Summer. I don't wish I could go back to camp. I don't wish for one more swim meet or family share night. I wish for more time with my family.
And more raspberries.
For some ideas on ways to spend time with your family this summer click
here.
