A Summer of Boom and Bust

If there was ever a season to challenge my ability to make the best of a trying time, this summer ranks high.

When summer began, we were off to such a great start with kite flying and the promise of days filled with sun, relaxation and lots of outdoor fun. Instead we got rain. Lots of it! We also got four weeks of unexpected sickness that put a kink in my high hopes of a summer with no difficulties. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?

It seems that when I wasn’t nursing someone back to health, we were heading to the doctor. As a bonus to try our patience as parents, we got a trip to the emergency room and Jessa had her highest fever ever! All of this in just eight weeks. Really?

It’s been quite a summer.

But even with all the sick days and rain, our summer wasn’t a total bust. Juliana mastered walking up and down the stairs by herself and Jessa had her first experience with summer camp.

As I do every summer, I read Simple Living for You, by Inspirio.

Reading this book reminds me to slow down and keep my life simple. This was especially important this summer. Well really, it’s important for me all year long.

Since school will be starting on Monday, we had our official “closing-out-summer-celebrating-Jessa’s birthday-trek” to what I call the fake beach. That’s where we are in the pic above. It’s really the lake, but when the girls hit the water and sand, they don’t care where we are. Smiles and squeals of joy filled our beautiful, perfect weather day. I got a moment to close my eyes, sit still and soak up some sun while the girls played.

As we rode home, I forgot all about doctor visits and sick kids. I filled my heart with the memories of our day and reminded myself that we won’t get these moments forever.

Summer #5 has come and gone and when I look back, I won’t remember the rain and bouts of illness. Instead, I’ll have visions of Lamar coaching Juliana up and down the stairs and Jessa practicing her summer reading after an exhausting but satisfying day at camp.

Was your summer all that you hoped? If not, remember that’s perfectly okay. You had some good things in there; you did. Hold on to those. Will you join me in my quest to see the beauty of things even when they don’t go as planned?

The clock is ticking. For me, and for you too. So, I’m choosing to walk away from the summer of 2017 with the good memories. The ones that will make me smile at the close of this summer and the summers that are yet to come.