Made it to the other side I love talking with my daughters -- they are smart, wise and encouraging. And funny. They must get that from the Boss, well at least the pun-gene. My sense of humor is just a bit dry -- some would say bordering on acerbic, but they might be wrong. Anyway, I was talking with my eldest daughter about this blog and how I'm not sure what I have to offer is really useful or pertinent -- people can find excellent parenting and education information at SO MANY online sites. She looked at me with the exasperated look only a daughter can give to a mom and said, "You are a grandmother. You made it to the other side." I thought this was hilarious. When you put it that way I knew what she meant, but really needed to hear something so obvious. We did make it through the trenches -- our adult children are not just wonderful people, but contributing members of society which was one of our basic goals as parents. My eldest also pointed out two other obvious-but-needed-to-be-said thoughts:
As we talked about these thoughts, we talked about home-schooling when they were young and how we made the school year different from the summer. She asked how I planned for those differences and would there be any useful pointers for families who
Well, when you put it that way. May the odds be ever in your favor One of the most distressing things about parenting for me was feeling as if I had no control over what was happening. At one point our family size doubled overnight: we grew from a family of two adults with two children to a family of two adults with six children. At that moment the odds were never in our favor -- while it wasn't really at the level of Hunger Games, it took some serious reflection, adjustment, and preparation to rebuild control over our lives. And there was no way I was going to lose or allow any of our children to lose out in the face of new circumstances. I cannot even imagine the panic or anxiety parents must feel during this pandemic. First, BREATHE. AGAIN. YOU CAN DO THIS. Now, let me offer ways to think about tackling your summer weeks. Covid-19 Summer Checklist There are three steps to taking control over the strangeness of a summer dominated by Covid-19. 1. Let go! Everyone needs the chance to say goodbye to planned vacations and camps, but it's important to not get stuck in the disappointment. Throw a little BBQ to set the stage for making fresh plans -- see the attached checklist. 2. Start fresh! What's your greatest hope or goal for the summer? Make sure everyone in the family shares ideas or thoughts about what is important to the family AND brainstorms possible things to do. 3. Build anticipation! Use a large family calendar to build excitement about the new summer activities -- adding even a few will refocus everyone's attention to what is possible, rather than what's been lost. If any of these ideas resonate for you, feel free to download the attached Covid-19 Summer Checklist.
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Nonna's Thoughts are for busy parents who are looking for practical knowledge, and a bit of laughter, in growing strong, joyful families.
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