I listened to a wonderful speaker recenty who spoke of the importance of having shared goals in a marriage. He explained that many couples flounder when the kids leave home because they haven't developed new goals that will take them beyond the child-raising years.
As I've mulled that over, I've been impressed with the importance of also having shared goals with our children during the child-raising years. What do we want to do together as a family this month...this season...this year...before the kids leave home?
And I've realized there won't be many more summer seasons for goal setting with the entire family. Our oldest turns fifteen this summer, which means we have four, maybe five summers left with all the baby birds in the nest.
Precious time to squeeze in so much joy. Precious time for goals realized. And I am determined not to let it slip by without savoring it.
This summer, we will:
- eat homemade breakfasts in our jammies several times a week, all together
- let the kids camp out in the tree house (often talked about, but not yet experienced)
- take overnight trips in an ancient travel trailer
- take a two week vacation in the same ancient travel trailer to as many state parks as we can handle
- learn to can salsa with my mother
- swim, in pools, lakes, and rivers
- let each child take a turn teaching family devotions
- watch all the kids go to church camp and come back filled with God
- grill out in our swimsuits with the sprinkler on full blast
- harvest our garden
- paint the fence
- eat a lot of watermelon in the backyard
- teach a teenage boy to drive a car
- teach a little girl how to ride her bike
- go to some dollar theater matinees
- host some BBQs
- learn to identify some constellations
- have a family worship night, complete with painting
- visit all the great-grandmothers
- celebrate three birthdays
- work on table manners
- create some photo albums
- dream new dreams together about a huge vacation up the East coast and pray it can happen next summer
- laugh more than we ever have
