How is it that summer vacation always catches me off guard? After talking with a few moms in my network, I’ve found that I’m not the only one that experiences this mysterious creeping up of June. It’s not as if the months change order, June always comes after May and yet, one week before school gets out I find myself looking at the calendar in disbelief and muttering, “How did this happen? The kids get out next week? It can’t be summer already!” We get so wrapped up in the erratic busyness of end-of-the-year activities that we find ourselves scrambling to make a plan of how to keep some sanity and a healthy level of activity for our kids.
Being blessed (and simultaneously cursed) to be able to work from home means I can be flexible with my time. As somewhat of a creature of change, I thrive on randomness. But when it comes to the kids and creating order over the summer, I will have to implement some sort of routine. Without limits, my teenagers will have me playing activity director and cab driver all day, every day.
So the plan is this: blocks of time. I can work in two hour increments spread throughout the day, dividing my time to get my work done – talking to clients, researching venues for Erin’s presentations, responding to inquiries and of course, writing my blogs. I will also be carving out time to play – taking the kids to the beach or the movies and going out for dinner. I can do this because once it’s on my schedule; it is more likely to happen. My work time and my down-time will all be marked on the calendar keeping me and the rest of my family, on board.
Now I realize this exact summer schedule idea will not work for everyone and it also will need adjustments as we go along, but what I think is the important take-away is that we must allow ourselves and the people around us to have some kind of routine. Knowing what to expect; when I am working and when I can go out and play, makes me (and my family) happy. So now, I am looking forward to a productive AND peaceful summer. How about you?
