Summertime: It begins

Our last day of school for the year was last Friday. Last week my Facebook feed was full of posts from the two conflicting camps of dread and exhilaration as parents anticipated the children being home full time for a few months. Unlike some others I sit firmly on the fence between the two (not exactly warring) sides.

I'm not going to lie, I love to sleep. I love not having to live by any kind of schedule most days. I love pajama days and semi-late nights with the kids. I love going on "adventures" and discovering new things. For these reasons I look forward to summer. The fact that there is no homework, or projects, or recitals to attend also helps. However, I don't love the fighting, the whining, the someone else has a friend and I don'ts, and most of all the I'm bored's.

I try to be prepared. We've renewed our passes that give us access to water slides, laser tag, mini golf, bumper boats and more. I've spent months gathering the best Pinterest ideas to keep the kids occupied. I signed the kids up for the summer reading program at the library. I scour a few blogs to find out days of cheap or free fun and we attend almost every one.

However, I still work 2 part time jobs and the laundry needs to be done each week. Plus the kids will want some time with their friends so there will be days when we are "stuck" at home. I've seen multiple pics of "bored jars", but so far (you know a whole 3 days into summer) I don't think we'll be going this route. This summer I have one and only one goal for our family: work on solving your own problem.

As the kids get older there is less and less that I have to do for them. Nobody needs me to physically feed them. Nobody needs help to get dressed. Everybody is potty trained, can tie their own shoes (mostly), and we finally each know how to ride a bike. Pretty much until it is time to learn to drive, I'm done teaching them how to do stuff, and more in the mode of teaching skills for life: kindness, manners, self-reliance, work, etc.

So when my kids bicker, feel stuck at home , or complain about being bored I'll probably give them one or two options and then when, as usual, mom doesn't have all the answers, they'll get to find their own solution to the problem. I say with full confidence on the third day of summer that I will have complete patience with my kids and not get overly frustrated and yell at any time as we walk through this journey of creating responsible adults able to make their own way in life. On day 13, or 45, or 73 my answer may be a little bit different.

Good luck with whatever your summer journey brings you. And for those times that are a little bit rough just remember, nothing lasts forever.