Now I am not ignorant to the fact that summer vacation isn't all roses. Vacations are a lot of work and require adjustments to schedule changes and more down time than people are used to. The first two weeks of summer vacation have come and gone. Week three is in full swing and it's safe to say that we are finally out of our funk! I'll be honest, I'm no good with change. In fact, I hate it. I also hate when my schedule is interrupted or I can't count on specific events happening at regular times. For a woman with four kids, this sometimes leads to struggles. And, these struggles are brought on and intensified by yours truly! I am my own worse enemy.
Our family funk wasn't horrible. But, it was ugly. There was bickering; constant bickering. There was shrieking and hitting and lots of moans. There was more yelling, more icky tones, more rolling of the eyes. There was an over-reaction to every minute thing. I don't think more than five minutes past without something tragic occurring. Maybe I'm over-reacting, but the last two weeks our family was not very fond of each other. I should put in a plug that in the middle of these two weeks, we took a three day vacation. The children were fabulous. So, I also think that part our funk was due to the fact that they used up all their goodness on our trip.
Anyway ... yesterday was Monday. I was picking up my two oldest darlings from Religious Education and I had just picked up my third darling from a forest camp. This #3 of mine (who was at time the ROOT of our funk) struggled with the pick-up. I noticed another family who seemed to be having similar struggles as ours. The older sister in this family shoved her younger brother so hard that I thought his head might come dislodged from his neck. I was more than impressed with how calm the dad stayed. I commented, "I know this sounds bad, but I saw what happened and I'm just so thankful that it's not just my family that can't keep their hands to themselves this summer."
His comment back was so true. "Well, we can't quite handle things like our folks did." I told him that if he had some good ideas, I'd be all ears. He then smirked, "Watch this and see if it works!" He made his two children run laps around the parking lot. "I believe that if they have enough energy to beat each other up, then they have enough energy to run laps."
Kudos to him! And THANK YOU! You were inspiration to get out of our family funk! The first instant that my son touched his sister when we got home, he had to run to the corner and back. His sister retaliated, so off she went. I had an 'it's okay' moment when I didn't quite explain to her where I wanted her to run to and she started around the block. I was so nervous I had to send my son after her. She had gotten scared half way around our ginormous block and turned back. She was fine, but really ... come on, mom! Anyway, it worked!
We also finally have nice weather and the pool time is the best threat under the hot sun! Today I woke up refreshed. We are funk-free at our house. Today only a few sprints to the end of the block occurred. My #3 only had to walk five laps around the pool (since she can't run at the pool, walking does the trick), and didn't touch another soul after.
I needed something new. I needed the hot sun. Change happened. I'm over it now. We are finally getting into a routine. Yeah! See you later, funk! Hello, summer vacation. And, thank you, Mr. Dad at Religious Education. A fresh perspective is just what I needed!
Here's to hoping a funk is no where in your close future. And, when your funk hits, because it's inevitable that it will, my hope is that it is short and quick. My hope is that you will be refreshed quickly, much like I was yesterday!
Enjoy the journey you have been blessed with, love the people in your life, smile :) and remember, 'It's Okay'.
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