Summer is winding down. Time to build a bonfire. We’re going to find a good night, or afternoon, or morning {because, heck, who doesn’t like s’mores for breakfast?} to gather up the kids. To continue the oral tradition of telling tales.
Some serious things happened this summer, and some seriously great things happened, too. And how we talk about them recounts not just the events, but who we are. How we tell stories tells our children about our values: resiliency, generosity, persistence, community, kindness, problem-solving, hope, love.
So this final week of the Summer of Love? We are going to strike a match and light up our lives, campfire style.
Monday: Schedule fun — one last time, before the summer is gone. Plan your bonfire. Find a space, squeeze a date, do whatever is necessary to find time between now and…then plan to build a fire.
Tuesday: Write a story. Assemble your documentation, calendars, and a few highlighters. Go through it all and find the events that mattered most. The ones you want to emphasize with your kids. The big, obvious ones. The small ones you think they might have glossed over. The ones you want to revisit to make sure everyone got the point—the lesson underneath the action.
Wednesday: Pencil out your narrative. You’ve gotten the events in place, now go back to the values. Look through your list. What connection do you want to make from action to value? Which traits do you want to emphasize for each child? What do you want to say to them? What do you want to imprint on your child’s memory from the Summer of Love?
Thursday: Reflect. Sometimes inspiration comes from the reflection of others. So grab a phone, write an email, walk across the street to knock on your neighbor’s door. Check in with your sumbud {one last time, sniff sniff}. Review your plans. Go over what you want to say. Edit. Add. Change. Decide.
Friday: Feelings. {nothing more than feelings}. At the end of the day, when the flames have settled, take a moment to reflect. We did a lot of work this summer. Grab a folder. Tuck all the calendars, the documentation, all the www, all of it, away somewhere in your hub. So on the emotionally rainy days you can pull it out and return to the Summer of Love. You can come back and review. Or maybe pick something new. Because we covered a lot of ground:
- Build a hub
- Discover values
- Decide the who-what-where
- Rediscover me {and by me I mean you}
- Sing about the sunshine
- Look for fireworks
- Unbalance life
- Listen for the sounds of silence
- Reach out
- Start a love triangle
- Question your kiddos
- Plan a day-cation
- Dance the hokey pokey
- And build a bonfire
Each of these actions creates a spark. Illuminates change. We did it. Together. Lighting a string of emotional twinkle lights. Full of love.
Xoxo.
Emily
P.S. And if you have any questions about parenting, now, tomorrow, next year, please know I am always here for you. xoxo.