Do you ever look back through life and judge your summers as good, bad or forgettable? Perhaps you spent a summer traveling, or welcoming a newborn baby into your family. Possibly a loved one died, or you suffered a horrendous break-up. Or maybe you don’t remember a particular summer at all because nothing interesting happened.
We only get 18 summers with our kids before they grow up and leave. Subtract the summers when you’re wiping their butts and then take away the teenage years when they ignore you. What are you left with? Twelve or 13 summers? How many of them will be worth remembering in a good way?
When I look back at my summers as a parent one of my favorites is when my son was 4 and my daughter was brand new.
We spent quality time at the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett where I sat slumped on the floor nursing my infant while her big brother played. The beach was too hot for a newborn, but the Children’s Museum was just right. So was the Woodland Park Zoo, especially the Zoomazium exhibit where parents can sit while kids play.
The shameful thing is that I spent so many years taking my son to fun places that I burnt myself out. By the time my daughter was ready to participate our museum and zoo memberships had lapsed. We were a case of a big brother who went everywhere and a little sister who went nowhere at all.
Now my daughter is 6 years old, which is almost too big for children’s museums — but not quite. It’s not too late for me to make up for all of those missing experiences.
Right now my son is attending a three-week day camp at the University of Washington. My daughter and I could double our time in the car braving work traffic to come home each day between drop-off and pick-up. Instead we pretend to be tourists in Seattle. The money we save on gas is spent on museums.
When we return home every afternoon all three of us are pooped. I let the kids play Minecraft and watch TV while I collapse on the couch and pray that dinner will magically cook itself.
The Entertainment Book, which had sat like a brick in the glove compartment, has become our new best friend. We tear through coupons every day. Our first week of adventuring my FitBit clocked 95,000 steps.
Summer fun is exhausting but I wouldn’t trade one minute of tiredness for all the naps in the world.
I know come September I’ll be dying for school to start. I’ll prance through the aisles of Staples and sing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” while shopping for school supplies. But right now the days are ripe with opportunity.
This summer still has potential no matter how old your kids are. So go ahead and burn yourself out. The bright summer memories will be worth it.
Jennifer Bardsley is an Edmonds mom of two. Follow her on Instagram @the_ya_gal, Twitter @jennbardsley, or at teachingmybabytoread.com.
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