We are one week into summer and things are feeling good.
No school uniforms.
No bag lunches.
Staying up late.
Sleeping in.
Free time galore.
No bag lunches.
Staying up late.
Sleeping in.
Free time galore.
Free apricots from the neighbors.
Hanging out with friends.
Only one thing is not going as it should this summer.
The fact that the children want to stare at screens all day long.
Even when it is absolutely lovely outside.
They wimper when the sun touches their skin.
(From where did this vampire-ish behavior arise? It must be stopped.)
And then there is the readjustment to spending ALL THEIR TIME together
which results in a lot of punching and crying.
Is this is what the lazy long days of summer are for?
Sucker punching? Nope.
Chasing with intent to maim? No, thank you.
Endless hour of video games while your brain seizes up from lack of individual thought?
Not so much.
So I have decided to write out a decree.
A Summer Manifesto for the Aughtmon nation to remind us what summer is for.
This is the list I came up with....
1. Swim more
2. Video game less
3. Eat Ice Cream
4. Eat Fresh Fruit only...straight off the tree when possible
5. Say Yes to going outside
6. Say No to fighting, complaining, tattling, general violence and
hitting below the belt (even if it seems funny)
7. Give 5 hugs a day (wrestling counts as a hug with your brothers not your mom)
8. Be forgiving...even when you don't want to
9. Wear underpants at all times (this is an issue)
10. Avoid broken bones or stitches or contagious diseases
11. Make s'mores once a week....preferably with friends
12. Spend more time with cousins....you can't do summer without cousin time
13. Laugh...all day long...whenever possible
14. Embrace good music, loud singing and crazy dancing
15. Experience boredom (it is a necessity for creativity...use your brain...make something happen...nothing fire related, please)
16. Say your prayers and be grateful...we are blessed...don't forget to
to thank the One who loves you most of all for the gift of an amazing summer.
1. Swim more
2. Video game less
3. Eat Ice Cream
4. Eat Fresh Fruit only...straight off the tree when possible
5. Say Yes to going outside
6. Say No to fighting, complaining, tattling, general violence and
hitting below the belt (even if it seems funny)
7. Give 5 hugs a day (wrestling counts as a hug with your brothers not your mom)
8. Be forgiving...even when you don't want to
9. Wear underpants at all times (this is an issue)
10. Avoid broken bones or stitches or contagious diseases
11. Make s'mores once a week....preferably with friends
12. Spend more time with cousins....you can't do summer without cousin time
13. Laugh...all day long...whenever possible
14. Embrace good music, loud singing and crazy dancing
15. Experience boredom (it is a necessity for creativity...use your brain...make something happen...nothing fire related, please)
16. Say your prayers and be grateful...we are blessed...don't forget to
to thank the One who loves you most of all for the gift of an amazing summer.
Okay...so here is the deal...
I love every single one of these mandates but the list is so long
I will lose my mind trying to get the kids to follow them.
First of all, my memory is going so I need things short and sweet.
Secondly, our family can follow 2, maybe 3, rules a day tops,
before we become an angry and violent people. (this is an issue.)
First of all, my memory is going so I need things short and sweet.
Secondly, our family can follow 2, maybe 3, rules a day tops,
before we become an angry and violent people. (this is an issue.)
So I have reconsidered and condensed it
and kept the essentials.
and kept the essentials.
And...voila...here it is...
This is doable.
Done and done.
I think today we will start with eating ice cream.....
1 comment:
I love this! My boys have spent countless hours on Minecraft (some of it playing with your boys! lol) and it drives me crazy! I take them to the pool as often as possible just to get away from screens (my computer for work, their TV for everything). Here is to a summer full of fresh fruit, pools, music, and underpants!
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