It’s been a while since I’ve gotten too personal here, so bear with me as I share my Summer oath with you today, a vow I am making in an effort to make this the best Summer as I also change my old habits.
Tomorrow marks the official start to Summer 2016, and I am ready. We’ve made it through another school year and Sawyer’s completed his entire elementary school education and will be moving on to middle school. How that much time has already passed is beyond me.
As many of you might know, my kids are close in age, just 17 months apart. We didn’t plan to have our kids back to back, but that’s how it happened. As you can imagine, life was utter chaos for a little while with two babies in diapers on differing nap schedules; I pushed through just surviving each day. I feel like I lost so many of the milestones and memories because I was busy getting through life.
When we moved out to the country, we slowed our pace down and it felt great. But as is my nature, I took on more and looked for more opportunities to grow my business, grow my blog, and be an active member of school activities.
This past year we ran into so many bumps on the road at Sweet Clover, and my family supported me and my kids rolled with the punches, often taking the backseat in my mind. Everything at work has been so much better, but we’ve still felt too busy. We’ve decided to hire help to do some of the tasks that drain us, and already a load has been lifted and creativity is once again sparked.
And now Summer is here, my kids are home, and I am feeling like I want less and less… no more trying to grow my blog, no more saying yes to every opportunity, no more of the things that take me away from the people who matter most to be in this world. (If you’re worrying about my business, I do still plan to continue building that, but grow it in a smarter way that doesn’t burn me out!) Instead, I want more of the simple things and special moments. I don’t want to capture goals, but capture memories.
Emmy and her bestie reading under her outdoor canopy
I have mentioned a desire to slow down before, but clearly, I have a hard time changing my ways. It’s always slow down, and then eventually speed right back up again until I am back to feeling like I need to slow down. So this time, I am making a promise to my kids. I want them to look back on their childhood and recall the moments when I colored with them, taught them how to make a clover chain, or choked out the last page of Old Yeller with tears in my eyes as they, too, cried. Don’t get me wrong- I will still be working! I just want to work to make all of the other times less chaotic and more memorable.
My Summer Oath
I promise to read more books with you, rather than telling you to read for 30 minutes.
I promise that this is the summer we make homemade ice cream and experiment with all the toppings you want to try.
I promise not to let you watch too much TV or play too many video games, because you’ll be too busy spending time with me and each other.
I promise to take you on more local adventures, as well as back yard adventures. Let’s see the wonder that exists right around us.
baby bunny in our garden
I promise to not only let you stay up late to watch a movie, but even try to stay awake long enough to watch it with you.
I promise we will finally have the Bustamante kitchen episode of Chopped, Jr.
I promise to teach you life skills rather than feeling stressed about doing all of the chores myself. This summer, you will learn to do your own laundry.
I promise to get creative with you… let’s paint, color, sew, glue, build!
I promise to teach you about life and growing your own food as we work together in the garden, herb garden, and begin our chicken raising journey.
I promise more pajama days where we eat breakfast for every meal and play board games all day.
I promise that I will try my hardest at each and every one of these, because you deserve to have a childhood reel full of happy memories and I want to be the best supporting actress, always there to help you shine.
Let’s all make this the best summer ever!
