Crazy Busy Summers!

Posted on August 10, 2012

* I saw a friend over the weekend and she said, “This has been a crazy busy summer.” She has a 3-year-old and a four month old.

* I was trying to organize a summer refuel lunch with my Happy Relaxed Parenting class that ended in June and six out of the eight Moms that took the course emailed back saying, “Their summer has been crazy busy.” Kids range from age 3 to 13.

* I spoke with my sister yesterday after a whole week. Reason: “I’ve had a crazy busy summer.” She has an 8-, a 6- and a 4-year-old.

* Just got an email from another friend who says she would love to get together after the kids are back in school. Her summer has been crazy busy with her 11- and 14-year-olds.

I remember “CRAZY BUSY” summers! I miss “CRAZY BUSY” summers; my kids are 24 and 21. I particularly remember the summer of 2000 when Nitasha was 12 and Navin only 9. I remember having the craziest busiest summer ever. The kids’ schedules were packed. I had them in every activity that they had asked for. Their summer was perfectly organized. I had it down to a science. I drove them from camp, to summer basketball, to swim classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and camp to basketball to speed reading class on Tuesday and Thursday. I even had them on the same schedule! Genius me!

Within one month, we went through a week when every single day, either the kids were fighting with each other or I was fighting with them. Someone was upset every evening. I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted!

It was a crazy busy day of a crazy busy week in a crazy busy month when at 10 p.m. it was finally quiet and I went to check my email. The kids were in bed. There was a forwarded email from my Dad. Oops! My Dad had left 2 messages that crazy busy week, both of which I did not find time to return mainly because he said, “It was not important. Just wanted to see how you and the kids were doing.” But here’s what the email read:

“I miss you. I got this from a friend and knew you would love this.”

~Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put                 into that action ~ MOTHER THERESA

The message was clear… crystal clear. We were having a loveless crazy busy summer! The next morning, I shaved a couple of activities off of the kids’ schedules (and mine!) and before we knew it, tempers were calmer and the energy at home was brighter. It still was a crazy busy summer but a more loving kind of crazy busy. 

I hope your crazy busy summers are still leaving you time to put love into your actions. If not, maybe it is time to reevaluate your commitments!