Spring Happenings
As I write, I’m sitting on the back porch watching my littles play. The sounds of birds, the rustling of new leaves, and an airplane overhead fill the air. Spring is such a joyful season filled with anticipation and hope. We have had a few cold days lately, but it has turned warm again and I’m starting to feel the need to start thinking about summer.
The older kids only have about a month left of school, and the days are going to start feeling crowded with everyone home all day in our little townhouse. I’ve been thinking about the different ways we will be keeping the kids occupied this summer. We will be able to spend many of our days over at my parent’s farm helping with the gardens, tending to our new chicken flocks, and helping with any projects that come up.
What Holds Me Back
Even so, there will still be many days where we won’t have any extra activities unless I at least attempt to plan them. I’m a huge homebody, so if I don’t have a list of possible ideas for us to do then we may not end up doing anything. If I’m completely honest, going out and doing things with all of the kids always comes with a bit of anxiety. It’s not that I’m afraid anything is going to happen, but is because I’m afraid I’ll run out of energy before we are through. The more people I’m around and the more bickering that my children do along the way all drain my energy faster.
That’s the thing though – the point of all of these activities, other than to keep the kids occupied this summer, is to make memories with people, my people, and ends up being worth it at the end of the day.
I used to feel really guilty for my lack of energy.
When thinking about activities I used to have an all or nothing attitude about it, so we didn’t end up doing too much. Over the years I’ve learned to be more aware of who I am and how I respond to the world around me. Knowing this helps me make better decisions on what to say yes to and what to say no to. I have also learned to work on a new attitude – I don’t need to make an immediate decision, it’s okay to take a day or so to think it through.
I’m looking forward to the summer.
Mornings where everyone gets to sleep in just a little longer, more time digging in the dirt (such good therapy for the soul), more opportunities to get together with friends, warm evenings out on the back deck with a good book, and of course the new memories that can be made.
Ways we will be keeping our kids occupied this summer:
- Get together with friends
- Go to the lake
- Hike in the mountains
- Play in the mountain creek
- Visit local farms
- Visit the small, local zoo
- Check out local events in nearby towns
- Go to the farmer’s market
- Pick out and read books from the library
- Try new activities from other online lists (like this one) 😉
- Camping
- Swimming
- Eat popsicles and ice cream
- Neighborhood walks
- Fishing
- Picnics
- House hunting
- Animal tracking in the woods
- Biking
- Drawing
- Crafts
- Eat crabs
- Run through the sprinkler
- Star Gazing
- Kick around a soccer ball
- Learn to ride the lawn mower
The kids loved getting a chance to add their own ideas to the mix.
It makes it so much more fun when everyone gets a chance to play a part. There are days when I still feel like just doing it myself (because it feels easier and faster), but I’ve come to learn that I don’t need to do it all.
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