Summer Moments to Remember

 We had a great family 4th of July weekend.  Spending lots of time with neighbors, friends, and our family.  We went to a carnival, launched water balloons at each other with a catapult, took the kids to their first live concert and dance, saw the parade, shot off and watched many fireworks, swam, played badminton in a pouring rainstorm, played Star Wars Risk, enjoyed video games, watched movies and just really enjoyed being together as a family.

This year I realized how soon it will come that our kids will want to start splitting up and doing things more with their friends then with us and I think that made this weekend even more special to us.  Taking that time together while the kids still really want to be with us and enjoy our time together as a family.  Watching the sparkle in my kids eyes as they watch the fireworks display, even the almost 11 year old.  Watching our 6 year old up on dad's shoulders for another year or two. It really is precious and special time together and I am so thankful we have had so much of it.

As I watched my kids swim in the pool at a friends house, use sparklers and snaps I was reminded of being their age myself and spending the 4th with cousins and family friends doing the very same things.  A few days ago we took the kids to catch fireflies in a nearby field and I was brought back to countless nights in my own childhood doing the same.  Having water gun fights with my kids I think how I wish I had a super soaker instead of a small squirt gun that needed to be continually refilled, still it is the same.  Watching them ride their bikes and continually want a bigger boundary reminds me of my own days bike riding through my neighborhood.  Having a baseball catch with my son reminds me of having the same with my dad.

There are differences to be sure - my daughter loves playing dolls with the neighbors far more than I recall doing.  My son builds bows and arrows and tree forts and has a love for wildlife I don't recall having at his age.  We don't live near an ocean but have lakes surrounding us every few miles.  Video games seem to be more pervasive and more of a driving factor for my kids and their friends than they were for me at these ages. I also remember playing far more board games then they seem to enjoy despite our continual efforts.

Still so much of summer seems universal to me despite generations.  There are small changes, different rules, different neighborhoods and improved technology to be sure but still so much of it repeats itself.  I wonder if that is because we are sharing our experiences with our kids or if there is just something about summer and kids that leads to the same things occuring over and over again.

I love summer time and the freedoms that come with it.  I love having the privelage and freedom to be home with my kids to enjoy these days.  I love that right now my job is going to the lake, pool, park, arboretum, zoo, ball fields, and playing around the yard.  Honestly who could ask for a better job or work environment.  Hope you are enjoying your summer.