Adventure: Summer Break

Endings are sad for me. I remember feeling emotional at the end of each school year. Each year was the best and I LOVED the predictable rhythms of a school year. But, after about a day, my grief did NOT take long, I would be ready for the adventure summer would bring.

One of my most memorable summers was my summer from sixth to seventh grade. Our neighborhood was packed with all my friends, and we would meet up and go ride the trails by the creek in the unfinished area of our neighborhood. About every day we would do this: wake-up, eat breakfast, get ready, jump on our bikes, and go. We needed to be home for lunch and for dinner but other than that our neighborhood was our playground.

Many of those evenings, after dinner, all of us kids on our immediate street would gather up at the court. and we would play epic games of SPUD or Ghost in the Graveyard. No one wanted to be the first kids to go home and so we stayed until our parents came looking for us. There were no phones, I am not sure any of our houses had the internet, all the shows on the TV were reruns because it was summer. So, there was nothing else to occupy our time, but to be honest we did not want anything else to take away our time from one another.

Adventure as a kid seemed to be inevitable. It seemed to be an always thing. So much to learn, so much to discover, so much life to live.

Summers have been different since college. My new normal has since been full of work and usually a lot of it. Whether it was to make as much money as possible so that I did not really have to work during college or traveling around the world with students (which is the BEST), work has been a huge part of my summer. Which made it predictable for me, even when there were curveballs thrown.

This summer is different for me. It is the first time I do not have a “normal” job. Yes, I am helping with A.R.C. and I am blessed to lead Barre at a local studio but other than that I am home and with our daughters. Yesterday, I got to go to the pool with them. We got to play, go down tube slides into extra chilly water, I got to watch them take their swim tests so that they could go into the deep end. It was our first time to the pool this season and it was my first time experiencing this first with them (for years the girls have had fabulous summer care). At different points yesterday, I had to hold back tears because I could not believe I got to see and experience so much yesterday.

Our day started with a neighbor wanting to play with the girls. They came and rang the doorbell asking if they could play. After they finished their reading for the day the girls went outside to play. To their surprise there was a small group of boys wanting to play. My oldest ran in uncomfortable, because the girls did not know the other boys and they did not know what to do. Suddenly, I flashed into my summers as a kid. When did I become a parent of daughters that boys wanted to play with? I went out and told the boys the “rules” of the house, but the girls did not want to go back out. So off to the pool we went.

After going on the tube slides together, our youngest looked at me and said: “Mom, can you go with me while I take my swim test?” I immediately said yes, but quickly followed my yes with: “Do you want to get in and practice first so that you know the exact distance and you know you can do it?” She very determinedly said, “No, I’ve got it.” Everything in me wanted to help her know for sure that she could pass with practice, but I knew I could not ask again because then I would communicate doubt to her determination. Anyway, the lifeguard also looked at my 7-year-old, man she looked small suddenly, and said: “Do you know what you need to do?” She said, “Yep.” He, like I, was not convinced and he shared: “Ok, you will need to swim to the other side and back, in freestyle stroke. No doggie paddling.” She looked at him again and said, “Yup.” And before I knew it, she jumped in and started. I could not believe my daughter knew what freestyle was. When did she learn it? How did she get so confident? When did I stop believing in myself instead of just going for it? Anyway, she passed, and her courage made her sister jump in and go for it. I knew our oldest could… she just did not want to get her hair wet… tweens :).

What did summers look like for you as a kid? Did you have a favorite? What kind of adventures do your summers consist of these days?

Summers may be different these days, but they are still full of adventure! May we be a people that sees each day as an adventure worth our time and attention.