Summer is underway and we have a long Summer to-do wish list ahead of us. We have already scratched a few things off of the list, but still want to to Sylvan Lake, plan a stay-cation, go camping, have some picnics, and just have fun together.
I read an article not too long ago though that really got me thinking. It said something along the lines of “When you think about it, the number of Summer you have with your children while they are still children, are numbered.” That made me stop and really think. They won’t be kids forever. My oldest is turning 11 soon, so the number of Summers I have left with her as a child are not many. They’re more than half gone already. And the number of Summers I have left with my other kids are flying by just as fast.
We only have a handful of Summers left to spend together as a family with the kids still being kids. For them to run and play and trust their parent’s plans. To stay up too late and fall asleep in the car on the way home the next day. To argue with their sibling and make up 5 minutes later and get back to playing, with innocence, without worries, and with fun being the #1 thing on their minds no matter where we go.
Movie nights, sleep overs in each others bedrooms, forts, sprinklers, trips to the zoo, candy/slurpee rewards (and bribes) from the corner store. Those things are going to stop being fun for them suddenly one Summer. Going to bed in the same house every night, and calling this house our home all together won’t last for that many more Summers. They are bound to grow up.
The time we have together now before they are grown is all limited.
Limited time before their plans with friends or their significant other become a priority over going on a trip with their Mom.
Limited time before they become adults, make their own choices and live their own independent lives.
Limited time before they are off to college or university, or get a job/career and just can’t get away. When our schedules may no longer jive; when our plans get harder to coordinate as everyone has their own thing going on.
Limited time before they are old enough to travel by themselves, and we aren’t going all together anymore. When Mom is just waiting at home for a phone call with an update about how much fun they are having on their own.
I could easily stress about the limits we have – but it won’t get me more time. All I can do is enjoy the time we do have together now. To really be present. To watch things with my eyes, not through the camera on my phone. To create memories we will talk about years from now. To let them stay up a bit too late sometimes, to listen to their stories on repeat, and remember their smiling faces. To get those extra cuddles in.
Because my 10 year old was just born a few months ago… or so it seems. The days can be long, but the years sure are short. 2 turns to 10, which turns to 18 all too quickly, and their childhood is gone forever.
So for now, I am going to make that Summer to-do list even longer, and include chilled out days at home where our devices are nowhere near us, where I can just be present and enjoy my kids. I am going to read more stories to them, and ask them for some ideas of what they want to do this Summer, and actually plan to do them. I am going to make sure the time I spend with them is quality time; that I stop putting off plans for a day when my to-do list at home isn’t so long, for next week, or for next Summer. Because time is fleeting. I know the different stages of our lives as we all grow will all be enjoyable in their own way, but for right now, there is no where I would rather be than present with my kids, enjoying the last of our Summers together before they are all grown up.