Whatever happened to “the lazy days of summer?”
I think I remember them from when I was a kid…
Sleeping late (‘til like 8:00 – until teenage years when it became noon)…
Riding bikes all over town…
Walking barefoot in the grass…
Chasing the ice cream truck down the street…
Playing around the neighborhood until dinner…
Then again until dark…
Kick the Can and Ghost in the Graveyard after dark …
Ah … thinking about it now sure does bring back memories. Simple stuff, really, but it brings a smile to my face now.
I’m not sure that summers go quite that way these days.
We rise early, take the kids to camps, lessons, and sporting events.
Then we’re off to work (be it within or outside the home – or both!).
Meetings all day, squeeze projects in between.
Pick the kids up from camps, lessons, and sporting events.
Take the kids to the evening camp, lesson, or sporting event.
Come home to bathe and get it bed – but not before catching up on work e-mails (okay – and Facebook).
Then start all over again.
It’s easy to lose track of our traditions and values with the schedules we keep – particularly in the crazy days of summer we now find ourselves in.
A solution?
Well, I’m not sure such a thing exists, at least not in a simple form.
Let’s face it. We’re not living in the same world we did as children, just as our children will find the world different when they’re parents.
It becomes even more important to be intentional and meaningful about the time we do have to instill real values in our families.
Let’s start small with something just one time a day.
Take five minutes to let your kids (and spouses where applicable!) know how much you care by giving them the gift of your attention.
Talk about the events of the day, a new movie coming out, or a memory of your childhood.
Give a hug.
Say goodnight prayers.
Five minutes a day can change their world – and still leave you with 1,435 minutes for the rest of that particular crazy day of summer…
I also grew up playing kick-the-can, and neighborhood sandalot sports like football, baseball and basketball, not to mention “Cowboy and Indians” – which is unheard of today. Unfortunately, in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world in which kids are accustomed it would be very difficult to slow them down long enough to share even 5 minutes of time. Unless of course they were brought up that way FROM BIRTH. Luckily I have two nieces and one nephew who have been, but I also have five neices and nephews who couldn’t go ONE DAY without being on the internet for long periods of time in some capacity, and it’s NOT to learn. And it seems that Vacation Bible School is a thing of the past. I regret to say that, but with few exceptions (maybe 5 per cent) of our “future generations” will be focused on Online Video Games, and other around-the-clock internet brain-drain activities which have no moral grounding. And the so-called V-chip which was INTENDED to keep young kids from accessing certain websites or channels has done little in that regard. Name lt because today’s kids are tech-say and THEY will “find a way” to do what they shouldn’t. In the past 5-10 years I have often thought that the internet has been Satan’s playground given that so many pornographic and sex-related websites, which a great many kids see and share with one another. With that said, I Pray that there is a solution which the First Amendment cannot protect to alter the internet activities of our youth as well as grown men and women who have lost their way to Jesus because of the internet. Let’s ALL pray for the day when the internet is used for educational purposes and simple interaction among friends and family and not the way it is used today. God Bless and Keep Up Your Work, Darrell Gross Lexington, KY
My favorite summertime activity with my kids? Playing in the sprinkler! We set it up on the deck, get out a variety of buckets and pitchers, and I follow the lead of my kids. Sometimes they just need me close by while they play on their own (and I get a chance to soak up the sun and read a book). Sometimes we run and jump and fill up and pour and splash together. And of course, an hour in the sprinkler means nothing if it isn’t followed up with a popsicle! My family is a busy family. But like you’ve said here, Karla… it is so important to do what I can to give my kids the best of me every day. During our waking time together, I do my best to be focused on them and their needs. I’m not perfect by any stretch. But my hope is that by making the choices that I make… my kids will be looking back as parents and finding ways to have time to play in the sprinkler and eat popsicles (even if it means having them in the bath tub) with their own kids.
I think a huge part of helping to bring back the lazy days of summer lies in something simple, a concept that you touched on in your blog. Good guidance and parenting. I grew up with strict rules on TV viewing, and didn’t have my own computer until I was in college and could afford to buy one for myself. My brother and I, like so many generations before us, created our own outdoor games, read voraciously, and played sports. Someday when I have children I hope to help them find freedom in wise boundaries the way that my parents did, so that they are not molded by others’ values. Thanks for your blog. 🙂