EDITOR’S NOTE: Carolyn’s reflection on summertime from back in 2016 seems like a good place to return during this strange summer of 2020.
I remember loving summer as a child, despite the intense Texas heat. It wasn’t that I didn’t love school. I did. But there was something magical about that long period of freedom that nourished my soul.
But summers back then were a little different. Oh, we went to VBS and maybe camp for a week, but the rest of our days were fairly free. We swam and rode bikes. We read and played Nintendo. We climbed trees and caught lizards.
And we rested.
Those summers of freedom gave our bodies, minds, and hearts a chance to dream, to imagine, and to just be.
Today, I find myself marking the swim team schedule on my calendar, thinking about summer reading programs and deciding if my kids should do art camp. None of these things are bad, but I don’t want my kids to miss the gift of an unscheduled summer.
And it’s not just for my kids.
I believe we parents just as much need a break from all our shuttling back and forth, from all our spinning plates (or at least from a few of them). Because our kids aren’t the only ones who need a chance to dream, to imagine, and to just be.
And, hopefully, some of those unscheduled summer days can be spent together.
When she’s not writing, Carolyn can be found homeschooling her four kids in her house full of bookworms, which also happens to be the name of her blog. You can find her at http://www.housefullofbookworms.com, and on Instagram.
- The Littlest Watchman: Anticipating Christmas - December 2, 2020
- The Gift of an Unscheduled Summer - July 27, 2020
- What God’s Family Looks Like: A Review of God’s Very Good Idea - July 8, 2020
I love this! I have such wonderful memories of library trips and reading in the shade and playing outside, going barefoot. No schedules. Hoping to give our daughter this kind of summer.
I wish that for you and your daughter too! I wrote this to remind myself not to over plan this year! 🙂