Summertime is Fun-Time!

 

I’m someone who sticks to a schedule. I cling to routines and prefer to do certain activities on certain days. I have been doing this for a long time because I have found that following a schedule has helped me to ensure that I get done the things I needed to get done. When my kids were little, a schedule helped me make school mornings easier and they got into bed when they were supposed to.

 

Now that my kids are older, with one of them attending uni, I started using a schedule just for my own purposes. Yes, my youngest still had school hours and he needed some time with me too, but for the most part, I was doing other things. As a teenager, he does other things too.

 

But I have learned that when it comes to summer vacation, the schedule is not a part of our daily routines.

 

In fact, we don’t even HAVE daily routines!

 

We have been having a lot of family time this summer, and I prefer that over a schedule or routines any day. I still stick to my To Do lists, because it’s important to me to get certain things done on certain days, but it’s not the end of the world if I can’t do everything on them.

 

I have not been sticking to my schedule this summer and I have not prioritized my To Do lists. I have, instead, been enjoying these summer days with my kids. And I don’t feel bad or guilty about that at all! As I wrote in my journal last night: “Summertime is fun time.” It’s also family time. Summer is when there are no schedules or routines. We do whatever we want whenever we want! We don’t wait for certain days or certain times; we do them now. My kids won’t be around forever. My oldest is nearing 20 and my youngest starts high school next year. It won’t be long before my youngest is “too old to hang out with Mom” and be busy with his own life too.

 

With my youngest out of school and with me out of a job, I think it’s a great opportunity to have some serious “family time” this summer and just focus on having fun. I know I have not stuck to my schedules this summer, but I am okay with this. I used to have a summer schedule for the kids when they were little, but this year I decided not to do that. No schedules for them! Besides, my oldest pretty much has control over his schedule, because he knows when he has classes, has to work, etc.

 

Summer is coming to a close, though. My youngest goes back to school in 4 weeks. We only have 4 weeks left for movie marathons, games and recreational activities! Just 4 weeks left of staying up late enjoying some personal time and 4 weeks left to sleep in on a Monday.

 

I have been enjoying the time I spend with my kids this summer. Once school starts, it’s back to the schedules and back to routines! At least for now, we have the opportunity to soak up as much fun together as we can while we still have summer days left to enjoy them with.