be the only one who is trying to figure out life again.
There are plenty of good lessons that were learned in that season. We learned how much we touched our faces to the truth of how little we knew the people under our roofs. We gained a great deal of knowledge, but we also learned how to adapt everything in our lives to a pandemic world.
How do we get back to living our lives while taking with us the valuable lessons learned?
Summer months are the ones that feel relatively normal. There is no school, activities are running at a relatively normal schedule, life has begun to move on. It is the perfect time to get back to living.
Summer in a normal year can feel like a struggle. There will always be the battle of boredom, the surge of snacking, and the steady whir of whining. Those things are not new, but this year may be the chance for us to teach our families how to take the truths that 2020 taught us and apply them to our present.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/jacoblund
1. Say yes to adventure.
If we have learned anything, it is that life is fragile, putting off adventures should never be on our to-do list anymore. Whether you have always wanted to rent an RV to travel with your family or take that trip you have always planned but never made time for, do it. Maybe your adventure looks like trying something new for the first time or saying yes to a random Tuesday night trip for ice cream. Say yes to all the things we have spent the last year saying no to.
2. Limit devices.
We can’t renew our hearts and minds as a family if we are constantly competing with devices. Lead the way Mom and Dad, put it down, and on silent. Set boundaries for your kiddos including time limits. When time runs out spend time with them; watch a movie, read a book, color on the driveway with chalk, ride a bike, play in the sprinkler, or bake in the kitchen. Devices rob us of living, they keep us from being present, and they keep our kids from being kids. Let them go this summer.
3. Get creative.
I am not saying to become one of those Pinterest moms. If that is you, I am super proud of you. However, if you are like me and coming up with creative activities for kids is not your superpower then there are a few ways to make this as painless as possible. Grab a huge box of sidewalk chalk (I get the ones with forty or more colors), send them outside on the driveway to create a masterpiece of art. Get in there with them and get your hands dirty. Grab a recipe for Oreo Dirt Cake or even grab the ingredients for S'mores and get busy in the kitchen. With the Olympics around the corner, set up a backyard obstacle course for your kids to run through (add water into the mix, and you cannot lose).
Related Resource: Listen to our FREE podcast, Reframed: The Power of Perspective. In each episode, Carley provides practical techniques for identifying and reframing negative thinking patterns. Listen to an episode below, and check out all of our episodes on LifeAudio.com.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/evgenyatamanenko
4. Release expectations.
I think this is the burden of every summer. We set out with great expectations to do all of the things, and then we fail to check everything off the list. Expectations rob us of the joy of living in the moment. When we place pressure on living, it no longer becomes about living, but the task ahead. So don’t be a prisoner to expectations this summer.
5. Take a nap or two.
Unfortunately, the art of taking a nap has been lost on the world. Unless you live in a place where siestas are part of your day, we no longer find naps a priority. Revive the art of the nap this summer. Teach your children what it means to rest their bodies and minds for a few minutes in the afternoon. Even with my older kids, I make them take a rest in the afternoon. A few of them may actually sleep or just lay quietly in their beds with a book. Naps make the world go round.
6. Set priorities.
We will always make time for the things that we deem to be most important. It is a natural rule we follow. We will always give way to what is most important to our families and us. If your priority is your people, then you will find ways to be together. If your priority is rest, then you will make time for rest. What is your priority this summer? Fun, rest, people? Make your priorities and eliminate what doesn’t belong this summer, and make more room for what is the most important in your life.
Photo Credit: © Unsplash
7. Do something you always say you never have time for.
I know I am not the only one who says, “I don’t have time for that.” Sometimes it’s just an after church Wednesday night run to Sonic for a treat. Maybe it’s a bubble bath, a trip to the aquarium, or taking a camping trip. But, there is one thing that comes to mind, or maybe many things that come to mind that you have said a hundred times that you never have time for. So, stop saying it and starting living your life.
8. Read as a family.
Children who appreciate books are hard to come by. They spend so much time on devices that outside of school, they are rarely seen with a book in their hands. This summer, make it cool to read again. Have a reading day, take a trip to the library, join a reading program; there are many ways to incorporate reading as a family. Help your children see the wonder of books!
9. Start conversations.
Summertime is the chance for our kids to slow down and for parents to slow down. In the summertime, we have dinner around the table together more often. We have nights where there is nothing to do but hang out together. This is the chance to have conversations with your kiddos that you have not been able to have. It is a chance to get to know them, what they like, what their friends are like, and most importantly, to make lasting impacts on them with the gospel. We let the busyness of life distract us from having meaningful conversations. This is our chance to redeem the time.
10. Invest in your kids.
Teachers get them all year, their friends get their full attention, but summer is our time. Don’t squander what is in front of you. Don’t waste the time that God has placed in your lap with your kids. Every day is a gift, and in the summer, we get an extra helping of time with them. This is our chance to leave lasting impacts on their lives and to teach them how to live.
These summer months are a blessing. We can look at them as long, drawn-out days we want to end, or we can redeem the time, establish renewing activities, and teach them how to live again while we learn how to live again.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/digitalskillet
Originally published Friday, 09 July 2021.
