What Color Is Your Summer?

The last day of school happened last week.  Since the moment the kids stepped off the bus, we have been all full gear, pedal to the medal, all about summertime.  No looking back, baby.  

My kids are a little older, we know what we are doing with this whole summer break thing.  We know there isn't a minute to spare when it comes to summer fun.  Get out the chalk, make the lemonade, swing, run, swim, soak up the sun, jump rope, bike, lay in the tall grass, explore, watch the clouds, smell the air, chase the ice cream truck, find a hammock, do nothing, do everything. Go! Go! Go!

When the kids were little we used to make summer books full of drawings, journal entries and pictures.  I got the old books out to inspire the kids and so they could remember what printed pictures looked like.  We laughed at their baby faces and smiled remembering the trips we took and adventures we had.

Hard to believe my seventh grader spelled awesome like this "asem" just a few short years ago.

Looking through these books inspired me
to print out pictures again.
There's something about looking through photo albums!

Even though we've been at this summer break a few years and know we want to do everything, I wanted to be intentional about our summer planning.  I asked the kids to name two things on their "must do this summer if at all possible" list.  I modeled my questions on the book What Color Is Your Parachute that I used after I graduated from college to find out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.  Remember that book?  I still have my copy from 1996.  Did you know a new copy is reissued every year?  But the core questions remain: What? Where? How?  What do you most love to do?  Where do you most love to do it?  How do you find such a job and persuade those employers to hire you?  

The kids list included going to the sand dunes on Lake Michigan, going to a Detroit Tigers game, going on a road trip to see cousins down south and family baseball games in the backyard.  We can totally handle all the what's, where's and how's of their summer dreams.


The color of our summer is going to be bright and green and blue and shiny and happy.  
What color is your summer going to be?

Exploring.

Kicking.

Slipping and sliding with all of our might.

Supporting.

Going for it.

Looking in the eye.

Hitting hard.

Sharing joy and excitement.

Reading and reading and reading.

Riding and riding and riding.