And here we are……my kids are out of school, and the summer planning has begun. My wife and I are pondering what to do this summer as our kid’s interests change and their friends are pulling from every direction.
It is tough to make decisions in an ever-changing environment, and I can’t say that we are the greatest with planning vacations, camps, and so forth.
We sometimes get so bound up in our routines that we miss out on some of the opportunities for fun right in front of us. Some highlights of our summer will certainly be taking care of our pigs and finally saying goodbye to our cow, “Delicious.” Yes, she has been with us for almost two years and will soon be in our freezer. What a joy she has been to our family as we’ve seen her grow, play with our dog and the pigs, chase after raccoons, and almost make her way onto busy Scott Lake Rd. That was a close one!! I’m not sure how we will all feel about the loss, but it’s been great teaching the kids about where our food comes from, as well as being a steward of what we’ve been given for the time we have it.
All three of my boys have taken up fishing and are being guided by a friend of ours from church.
He just took two of them out on his boat on Scott Lake, and you would have thought he had given them the world. We had some friends over recently, and the kids went down to the lake to gig. One of them sling-shotted a gar and brought it into the kitchen. They washed it, skinned it and did what any teenage boys would do…left it on my kitchen counter until the next morning. Goodness!
As far as my daughter, Luciana/Lulu, she will probably continue to follow the boys everywhere and put up with their shenanigans.
When not with them, she will keep herself occupied just like any mature “only” child would (that was me). Lulu loves to bake and cook. In fact, she and Joseph just recently made a killer pineapple upside-down cake…delicious, no, not my cow. The cake was delicious.
So whatever we end up doing this summer, whether here or to some vacation spot, I have no doubt that it will be adventurous and enjoyable. I am so grateful that the day-in and day-out difficulties of raising children are more than offset by the joy they offer in the mundane things of life. It is fun to be a part of it and to be an observer.
Have a great summer!
June 2024
