I am always so excited this time of year because my kids will be home more during the summer and my days, and nights, will be a bit more carefree and casual.
Yes, of course there is still lots that must get done…but daggum it I decided several years ago that when I was a kid I loved summer cause the pressure was off! So I made sort of a personal declaration that just because I was a grown up did not mean I couldn’t have a summer “break” too!
Everything is just a bit more laid back and relaxed around here in the summer. The house isn’t quite as tidy, the meals are a bit more simple, the evenings a bit more random with fun and a quick yes to most ideas that get tossed up as a possibility.
The kids can have sleep overs two (and even three) nights in a row, sleep outside, create mud pits, eat gross jelly beans, make unusual meals, get loud playing games with their friends, create strange videos, stay up half the night…you know all the stuff that used to make summer fun for you.
The way I see it, I can let them have no holds bar amazing fun at our home with their friends, or I can set up lots of rules and push them right out the door. Not knowing where they may end up, or at a home where I don’t know what the definition of fun could be…or where parents are not around and the fun is unsupervised.
We are blessed to have several friends who agree with our approach and the teens have a few houses to rotate through for fun and frolic. A couple weeks ago they were here for our Kentucky Derby Party, the week after they were at the Glub’s house for a Cereal Party!
What I have found is having light hearted kids around our home all summer havin fun, helps keep hubby and me light hearted and havin fun!
Maybe we get a bit less sleep and our grocery bill goes up – but there will be plenty of time for sleep and small grocery bills when our kids are off living their own lives.
So tell me, what extra mischief to your kids get you into during the summer? Share with me some new ideas for fun with teens!
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