I'm thinking we were maybe in the sixth grade? I'm not exactly sure, but I remember our entire class going on a field trip to Columbus, Ohio. We went to a place called COSI - which stands for the "Center of Science and Industry." It's an extremely cool place to explore and discover new things. I remember that our teacher had our class sit and listen to a demonstration by a person holding a plunger. The man shoved the plunger against the wall and challenged anyone of us to pull it off while using only one finger. One by one, we each pulled with everything we had. Not even the biggest and strongest of our class could make it budge. When we had given up, the presenter said, "Do you think it can be done? Is anyone strong enough to pull it off with one finger?" We shook our heads in certainty that it was completely impossible. He gave us a grin and stepped towards the wall where the plunger stuck. He didn't try to pull it off by the handle like we had all done...instead, he put the tip of his finger at the seal of the plunger against the wall where the rubber suctioned. He broke the seal from the wall so it simply popped off. It was a good lesson learned early in life. Keep it simple. You can fight and stress and push and pull until you're blue in the face...but sometimes the easiest answer is right there in front of you.
There are days when I think I'm going to loose my mind from the chaos in our house with four young kids. It's summer vacation and like clockwork, my mind starts thinking of all of the "activities" we should start planning. We should go on big trips, visit the zoo, go to museums, hit the beach, try different theme parks...so on and so forth. My mind swims with ideas of how we can make this year the "Greatest Summer of ALL Times." That's when it hit me. Keep it simple. Go outside and play. Pop popcorn and watch a movie. Dance around the house like crazy. It doesn't have to be elaborate and mind boggling...just simple and fun. We can rack our brains trying to plan the biggest and best summer break when all we really need to do is spend time together, doing anything at anytime.
The kids want to have fun regardless of whether we're away on vacation or in our own front yard. We, as parents, can wrestle with the stress regarding vacation planning, finances, time off from work, or we can just forget all of that and hang out with our kids.
The carefree days of summer are what I want them to remember. Playing on a slip-n-slide, riding bikes, catching fireflies...spending easy and fun times as a family. No struggle involved.
I hope this year we will in fact have the "Greatest Summer of All Times," but I hope it's because we relaxed and enjoyed our time as a family and with our friends. That's what it's really all about. Plain and simple.
There are days when I think I'm going to loose my mind from the chaos in our house with four young kids. It's summer vacation and like clockwork, my mind starts thinking of all of the "activities" we should start planning. We should go on big trips, visit the zoo, go to museums, hit the beach, try different theme parks...so on and so forth. My mind swims with ideas of how we can make this year the "Greatest Summer of ALL Times." That's when it hit me. Keep it simple. Go outside and play. Pop popcorn and watch a movie. Dance around the house like crazy. It doesn't have to be elaborate and mind boggling...just simple and fun. We can rack our brains trying to plan the biggest and best summer break when all we really need to do is spend time together, doing anything at anytime.
The kids want to have fun regardless of whether we're away on vacation or in our own front yard. We, as parents, can wrestle with the stress regarding vacation planning, finances, time off from work, or we can just forget all of that and hang out with our kids.
The carefree days of summer are what I want them to remember. Playing on a slip-n-slide, riding bikes, catching fireflies...spending easy and fun times as a family. No struggle involved.
I hope this year we will in fact have the "Greatest Summer of All Times," but I hope it's because we relaxed and enjoyed our time as a family and with our friends. That's what it's really all about. Plain and simple.
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