Ask Aunt B

Dear Aunt B,

Summer vacation is almost over. Yikes, I don’t know where it has gone. Is it too late to make some memories with my children so it doesn’t just go down in the history books as just another summer? Any ideas?

Help me

Dear Help me,

Time does go so fast. I am shocked that the hot weather is even half over. (I hope) Time tends to slow down a bit if you can really stay in the present moment. This is difficult to do, but so worth the effort. Also having a few really special days can make the summer special. These don’t have to be elaborate or expensive things. Also, do something to document the summer.

The present moment, how do you know if you are staying in it? If you are thinking of what happened yesterday or last week or any other time, you are not in the present moment. If you are thinking about the lost time over the summer, the next school year or tomorrow you are not in the present moment. If you are worried if everyone is having a great time you are not in the present moment. If you’re worried about anything you are not in the present moment. You are in the present moment when your mind and body are right here and right now. You are breathing and relaxed and enjoying the fresh air or the air conditioning. You are listening to the children laugh or the birds sing. You are calm and grateful. Your pleasure senses are heightened. I think the best way for me is to watch my breath. If I am holding my breath, I am not where I want to be. I hope some of you are better breathers than me. It is definitely one of my goals to improve.

So now, for your special days. Any time you do something out of the ordinary, it makes for a special day. I was always surprised at what my children remembered as special days. They weren’t something I had put a lot of work or attention into creating, they were just different from the ordinary. Get up early, start your day in a new way. Fix something special for breakfast. Cook it together. Stay up late. Plan a star gazing date. Take a day trip. Go to the Arboretum. Go to the Zoo. Stay in your pajamas all day. You get the picture, just do some things in a different way. Stay connected to your children. Put the phones and computers away or pick a topic and see who can find the most interesting information using the computers or whatever you have on hand. Visit a library, show them how we had to look up information. That will give them a good laugh. Have them teach you something.

What ideas do you have to document the summer? This can be one of the special days as well. You could get poster boards and have each person cut out pictures and draw things to remember what you all did this summer. Date your creation. If all you did was watch television, then create something on your poster board to represent the shows you watched. You can draw or get pictures of things happening in the world this summer. Not that you can’t have a picture of a mask, but keep it positive. If you can’t find anything positive to represent, then that is a sign of a bigger problem. There are unbelievable positive things happening in our world today. It all depends on where you look. End the summer strong.

Love, Aunt B

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