Summertime

"Can you guys believe that at this time last week you were still in school?" I asked today in the car.

"No way! It seems like it's been summer forever," was Max's reply.

Oh boy, isn't it amazing how quickly one season changes into the next?

There were summers, the ones when I had three babies who couldn't swim yet. I dragged them to the pool just to get us out of the house and wear them out. In those days I would begin to hyperventilate just thinking about having all the kids all day every day. We survived, in fact, we had fun. Okay, it was hard and messy and crazy, but also fun.

Then for the last few summers, I've had bigger kids. Kids who can fend for themselves, swim on their own, not have to be watched all the time. I looked forward to these summers as a break from schedules and rushing all the time. I loved the relaxed nature of it all.

This summer that old anxiety crept back in. Summer, with the big kids AND a baby is a little overwhelming. How will it work? Will the baby hang at the pool? What will the big kids do during nap time? Will any of us survive this?

Then I made a decision. This summer is not going to be bad, just different. We'll be at home more than usual because the baby has to sleep. All I need is a plan for what we'll do at home - one that doesn't involve exhausting all the free movies available through cable.

After some prayer, I was inspired with an idea. It's going to take some planning and effort but it has the capability of not only filling time, but inspiring a love for learning and some new skills as well.

If it works, I'm going to let you know all about it. Until then, pray for me. I don't want to talk about it just yet because I do have a baby after all and if it doesn't work, we may watch a lot of movies during nap time. And if we do, it won't kill us.