We’ve all heard this before. 18 Summers. We get 18 poolside, popsicle eating, sunshiny summers with our babes. 18 summers of library trips, baseball games, staying up late to catch fireflies, pink cheeks, and fireworks in an inky sky. While you and I know 18 Summers is the reality, many times it’s hard to live there. It’s hard to live there (even when we have prepped for it) when we are fixing snacks for what feels like the 100th time in a day or saying no to screen time or listening to siblings quarrel. I know because I have lost sight of 18 Summers already this summer and we aren’t even a month in. But, perspectives can always be shifted and today I’m sharing my hope for An Intentional Summer.
An Intentional Summer
Intentionality helps us live the life we want and be the people we want to be. Being intentional with how we spend our resources, what we focus on, and how we love people matters. Annie Dillard said it best: How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.
This summer let’s be intentional with our greatest resource: our time. Our hours and days are numbered with each of our kiddos.
Let’s start with a powerful exercise. List each of your kids on a sheet of paper or in your notes app and next to their name write how many summers you have with them before they leave the nest. You can see mine below.
Luke – 10
Lily – 12
Jude – 14
Jack – 17
My heart could barely handle this. I only have 10 summers left with all my babies at home. Jesus be near.
Now that we have some perspective, let’s take some time and think through what is important and how we can sharpen our focus on that this summer.
Word of the Summer
I’m sure you have heard many people talk about their word for the year. At the start of a new year, many people choose a word instead of setting goals. Grace or Love or Intentional or Hustle or Give. I want to take that same idea and implement it into setting the intent for this summer.
Think and pray through what you want this summer to look and feel like with your kids. Choose a word that reflects those things. Maybe it’s Savor because you have babies in your arms and you want to savor this incredibly hard and beautiful summer with your littles. Maybe it’s Connect because you have more time with your kids in the summer and want to connect with them. Or maybe it’s Prepare because your kids are getting more independent by the minute and you need to prepare them and you for more independence.
Take some time and choose a Word of the Summer.
My Word
The word I have chosen for this summer is Align. Align means to support and come together in agreement. This past spring was fuller then normal for our family. And when things get busy, some things fall away and get out of alignment out of necessity. I want to make time to Align with both my kids and my husband this summer. Align our values, goals, parenting style, rhythms, and family time.
What does it mean?
Now that we have chosen a word of the summer, it’s time to determine what it means. I’m a list kind of a girl, so let’s make a list of some practical things we can do to make that word a priority this summer. For example, if your word is Connect your list could look something like:
Spend 10 minutes of one on one time with each kid everyday
Take each child on a date 2 times this summer
Find out what interests each child and do it with them
Make a list of practical ways you can implement your word this summer.
What does it mean for me?
I’ve come up with 3 practical ways I want to Align with my family this summer.
Discuss parenting wins and learnings during Kevin and I’s weekly Sunday meeting.
Continue and increase our read aloud time through the summer to foster more common experiences.
Make a ‘bucket list’ of items my kids want to do together this summer.
An Intentional Summer
I wish I could tell you this was the magic bullet to an epic, quarrel free, magical, intentional summer. That, my friend, would be a false promise. However, whenever we think through and are intentional with pieces of our lives, our lives are filled with more of what we want and less of what we don’t. We are living the life we actually want instead of one that’s being thrown at us day after day.
My hope is taking 15-20 minutes to think and pray through the kind of summer we want will pay dividends the next several months. I will keep you updated as our family moves through our own intentional summer.