Why Summer Break Is Important

Hello sunshines!
After a notable, fun-fill, and much-needed summer break with my kids, I'm back!
I do this thing every summer where I think of everything that would be entertaining for a kid, splash pads, beaches, hikes, playgrounds, trips to the library, swimming, soccer, ice cream shops... and then I try to squeeze in as many things as possible during summer break. We had days of nonstop play, and we had lazy days where we just spent time together, but most importantly... each day counted.
And needless to say, we had a blast!
This summer was so different, you guys.
This was basically the first summer that I had two independent children, two children who could run around together and play and laugh and not need me every waking second.
Last summer Ava was a newborn, and all the summers before that Delilah was an only child... it truly makes a big difference having two kids who can play together!
I always imagined having two children as being extra challenging, and although it can be difficult at times, the truth is that many times they will entertain each other, leaving me with "free time". And by free time, I mean time to do fun stuff like fold laundry and clean out the refrigerator. Never grow up, it's a trap.
But seriously--
This was hands down my favorite summer so far.
In fact, I'm still very much on cloud nine.

I read an article a few years ago about the idea of "you only get 18 summers"; the concept was that we only get 18 summers with our children, and each summer they're a little older than the last, and how important it is to spend that time together making memories that they can take with them once they venture into adulthood.
Eighteen summers until they're grown.
Eighteen summers until they're on their own.
Eighteen summers until... they're gone.
How priceless those eighteen summers are. I think we can all attest that summer memories are some of the best memories we have... Popsicles, playing in the sprinkler, riding bikes until dark, camping out, climbing trees, venturing into the woods, laughing with your friends, bare feet in the grass, dirt in your hair, getting the Frisbee stuck on the roof, scraped knees, sun-kissed noses.
Summer is a time for adventure... and adventure makes the best memories.
How precious is it to cradle those times with your children and nurture them well, grasp your child's hand while you show them how memories are made, take each day of their summer break as a gift, treasure their childhood, fill their time with moments they can keep in their pocket and look back on some day.
How wonderful it is to be given a summer with them, time together, time to relax, time to have fun... time you cannot get back. For one day, they're going to be a little older, and they're not going to spend all their days with you, they're going to hang out with friends, or spend time alone, or with their own family, and you can't rewind back to these days where it was just you two and the world, you can't get that back.
And you're gong to look at your grown child, your baby who is much too heavy for you to hold now, and you'll think... where did time go?
It's so vital you hold on to this time and see it as the invaluable opportunity that it is; the opportunity to bond, to explore, to capture moments in time that you can some day look back on a smile.
Life is short and innocence is fleeting. In the blink of an eye your children grow a little more; all the things they found fascinating when they were toddlers, aren't as fascinating anymore, the little things they wanted to do when they were five, aren't as interesting as they were when they are six.
Hold on.
Hold on to these days.
These moments.
These chances to spend time with your children... for pretty soon, they're not going to be children anymore, and you... you're going to look back on these days wonder how they went by so fast, and you're going to wonder how you can get them back.
And you can.
You can get them back.
You can reach into your memory and pull out those memories you made with them, pull out those keepsake moments you built together... and play them over and over in your mind.
But you can't go back and make more memories.
What you have is all you've got.
So make them now. Make as many as you can.
Once an opportunity is gone, it's gone.
Take it and run with it, spend time with your kids, do things together, see things together, plan trips and events and explore together... so that one day, when you're much older than you once were, and your children are grown up and exploring the world on their own, you can look back to these golden times and recall how quickly these days faded and how precious they truly were.

So that's what I did. I made memories with my children.
I helped shape one of the greatest summers of my life... just by being present.
And I hope they'll look back and see that I was there.
All of me.

It feels so good to be back.
There is something so satisfying and exhilarating about starting a new chapter, I am eager to begin blogging again and have so many cool ideas and thoughts to share.
Join me as we delve into Fall 2018 and recommence my journey of sharing myself with the world.
Welcome back, ya'll!