The One Summer Opportunity You Won’t Want to Miss

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THE ONE SUMMER OPPORTUNITY YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS

3 weeks. 21 days.

That’s about as much as we have left of summer vacation.

I often wonder how time flies when you are a parent. It’s unfair, almost cruel. I want to just STOP the days from passing so I can enjoy them longer, instead of wondering what has really happened the last 2 months. I want to remember. I want to make sure each day that I tried my best to be present and involved. I want to slow down and bring myself intentionally into the moment.

Summer is such a great opportunity to create memories with our children, because the pressures of school, homework and extra curricular activities aren’t in the way. Of course, many of us still work and children aren’t necessarily home all day, but still, summer is an out of the ordinary season with out of the ordinary opportunities.

You have 3 weeks (or less) left. This is the one summer opportunity you won’t want to miss.

summer opportunity
Don`t miss your chance to connect!

Let your children know they are special…

Prepare them for the new school year by filling up their little love-tanks with much needed connection. No matter what grade your child is starting, it’s brand new. No matter how excited they are, it’s gonna wear off and mundane days will set in. No matter how much you want to avoid it, rough times are inevitable. They will need us and they will gladly look back at a memorable summer.

Cinderella, my 11-year-old step daughter, is starting middle school this year. It petrifies me. Mainly because I know full well how rough the middle school years are and that the changes, the heartaches, the emotional ups-and-downs and the pains of growing up are unavoidable. How will I support her and help her becoming a teenager? Will I sit beside her before it all begins and assure her of my friendship?

Little Girl and Little Boy will still both be my sidekicks for the next school year, but we are starting a homeschool preschool program for Little Girl. It is only going to be about 30 minutes a day, but serves as a reminder that she is growing up and soon, daily school won’t be optional. Will I set aside my agendas to help them through rough days? Will I empty my mind and notice how freely they laugh, sing and play?

I look back and constantly realize how short these years are. We can’t make them perfect and we cannot completely use every single minute well, expecting to have no regrets. But the good news is, we don’t have to.

summer opportunity
Let’s remind ourselves that our goal is not perfection, but avoiding stagnation. The most important is to be willing to constantly more forward. It doesn’t matter if your progress is slow as a snail’s, just don’t stop.

Remember the goal is not perfection, but avoiding stagnation.

The most important is to be willing to steadily move forward. It doesn’t matter if your progress is slow as a snail’s, just don’t stop. Stay teachable, open and you will make headway. That’s how I approach the last bit of summertime with my kids, before huge transitions begin and obligations knock on the door.

I slow down and consult my bucket list to see what’s left on it. I refuse to get discouraged that we have such short time until school begins and rest in knowing that I try my best every single day. You don’t have to do extraordinary adventures with the kids, just make whatever you do counts. Even if you haven’t yet focused a single bit on making this summer intentional, there’s still time.

summer opportunity
Kids are a whirlwind worth being caught up in!

Announce a “Celebrating the Last Weeks of Summer” at your house!

Whatever you plan, keep this motto in mind.

  • Take the kids to the park unexpectedly and tell them it’s part of the last weeks celebration.
  • Fill balloons up with water and have a backyard water bomb fight.
  • Make pizza together.
  • Take silly pictures in front of their summer daycare when you pick up your kids.
  • Have ice cream for breakfast.
  • Organize a “Back to School” cookout with best friends.
  • Take pictures in their new school clothes.

There’s so much to still do! Don’t let these last 3 weeks get away from you.

Count your blessings!
Count your blessings!

Commemorate the summer

At the end of it, don’t forget to create a special photo album. Whether you planed on being intentional for the whole summer break or you joined in the last few weeks, you can fill an album with your memories.

You can print pictures and just stick them in an album from Walmart. Or you can order an online photo book with captions and pictures, like these from Shutterfly. You can also create a Smash Book, including sayings from your kids, drawings, tickets and other special memories besides pictures.

Next year, their flip flops will be several sizes bigger, their hands less tiny, and their desire for independence deeper. You will never bring this summer back, so make memories and preserve them in a tangible way. Act now, it’s not too late!

This is the one summer opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Come back and let us know what you did during your last weeks of summer! We would love to see/hear it!

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Hilda
Hilda Crowe is originally from Hungary, a small country in Europe, where she grew up to love God, cherish friends and family, cook good food and have a huge desire to make a difference. When on a 6 months long visit with friends in Charleston, SC, she met Donnie and she immediately knew there was something very special about this single dad, ex-military, laid-back country boy. What she didn`t know was that 2 years later she would be willing to pack it all up and make a cross-continental move to the US, to spend the rest of her life with the combo. Since then, in addition to Donnie`s little princess (Nicole,11), Hilda and her husband welcomed a little girl (Haley, 4) and a little boy (Dominick 1.5) who turned their lives completely upside down, in the best possible way. Hilda and her family recently relocated to the Columbia, SC area where she began to make new relationships and discover what the Midlands have to offer. Hilda keeps busy with raising her bilingual children, learning to navigate the challenges of step-parenting a tween and finding healing from depression-anxiety through diet and lifestyle changes. When not chasing after one of her little ones or cooking up a storm in the kitchen, she enjoys spending time with her hubby, reading good literature, running, getting outdoors and creating meal plans for special diets. Hilda is passionate about impacting others by sharing her story, her victories and struggles and pointing to the One who makes life worth living. You can follow her journey at www.intentionallyblended.com.

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