TM
strengthing families from within
POWERED BY FOUR BARREL FITNESS
By Adam &
Kristin Kleinert
WHEN WE
THOUGHT WE
WERE BUSY…
ummertime is almost here.
We Kleinerts are anxious to
close out the semester, and
everyone in the household
is looking forward to a
few mornings of sleeping
past 6 a.m. Sitting at the dinner table together
recently, one of the kids mentioned how quickly
the break seems to go. The others all agreed and
seemed concerned about getting in some fun
and relaxation before they have to head back to
school in August.
S
“We should plan for this summer to be more
like when we thought we were busy.”
You see, when the kids were little, our summers
seemed packed. We remember going to bed
exhausted every night after chock-full days of
activity. Yet, until now, we haven’t really examined
how we used to spend the time back then as
compared to how we’ve done it during more
recent breaks. And after reflecting a bit, we’ve
learned our game plan for the next few months
needs to take a lesson from our younger selves.
This year, we plan to enjoy our summer together
by slowing it down...at least a little bit.
When it comes to managing family schedules,
busy creeps up on you. One moment you agree
to allow your kiddo to play a couple of all-star
34 EXTOL : JUNE/JULY 2018
Can’t beat a summer trip to the creek.
baseball games at the end of his or her regular
season. Next you find yourself shuttling that
kid to practice four nights a week through the
entire month of June and then playing in several
tournaments in July, often traveling out of town
and engulfing multiple, full weekends. Add in
academic enrichment classes, open gyms and
league practices and suddenly, the family calendar
begins to look very similar to the regular school
year. It’s a slippery slope because the opportunities
offered are positive experiences for the kids. The
vast majority are things the kids want to do and
some are even obligations. The point is, positive
experiences or not, it all adds up and before
you know it, summertime has disappeared. This
description is nearly identical to the format of
our most recent summers and, in the interest of
making a change, we’ve decided to aim a little
lower this year.
It’s kind of a perfect year to make the shift. By
some fortuitous twist of fate, there are no required
varsity sports practices this time, no significant
league play we have to attend, and we’ve chosen
to forgo all-star baseball participation this season.
Already it’s looking promising.
Now, we aren’t entertaining fantasies of long
hours spent laying in the hammock drinking iced
tea and lemonade. Not only are those delusions
unrealistic when it comes to our high-energy crew,
they’re not at all what the kids were referring to
when they mentioned the summers we used to
enjoy. Those months of yesterday were as busy
as ever. The difference lays in the activities in
which we occupied the largest chunks of our time
in summers past and, even more significantly,
the sense of obligation we lacked in those years.
We won’t be lounging by any means; rather,
we’ll fill our days to the brim. But we’ll fill them
with very few scheduled activities and lots of
flexible fun. Creek visits, dips in the lake, evening
fishing sessions and trips to friends’ pools will top
our to-do lists. We’ll enjoy easy summer meals
together and eat them outside any chance we get.
We’ll attend vacation Bible school, wash the cars
in the driveway, stain the front porch as a group
and stay outside way past dark while the kids run
around with their friends in the yard.
Reality will take over now and then, of course,
and we’ll have to go to dentist appointments and
fit in well-child visits at the pediatrician. There’ll
still be work for Dad and Mom and chores for
all. Eli will want to go to open gym some nights,
and Syd will need to hit the driving range when
she can. But for the most part, we feel like this
summer is an opportunity to make strides toward
being the kind of “busy we used to be” and we’re
looking forward to the adjustment.