As the summer comes to a close, I have been thinking about what summer means for my family. What it gives us and how it refreshes us.
Literally our kids grow in the summer. Is this psychological? Do they grow all year and we don’t notice? Or, does the downtime, sleep, aimless play, and quieted mind make them grow? It is amazing how they change inside and out…being carefree, I guess makes us all sprout a little!

As a mom, summer for me is about slowing down, re-centering and refocusing. Summer kind of becomes a time of resolutions, more so even than the new year. How do we want to engage our kids in the summer? What do we want the new school year to bring? It’s a time to change gears, spend less time in the car being a taxi for my kids, let myself indulge in a book or 2, and engage with my kids differently.
Yes, the house can be crazy with noise, mess, and chaos, and sometimes I crave the structure that the school year brings. But watching my kids read for pleasure, choreograph dance routines, engage in imaginative play, have lazy mornings, and overall witnessing the independence that my kids gain over the summer makes the time so special.
So as we all say goodbye to another summer, hopefully we can hold onto the refreshed feeling throughout the year to come.
