Well. It’s that time of the year again. Where you make your summer bucket list, you sign your kids up for every camp, you keep a flask in the pocket of every hoodie, and you clock out the minute your spouse clocks in. AKA Summer break.
Last year, I was pretty jazzed about summer. I filled my kids’ calendars with a little bit of camp, playdates, workshops, and by July, we had nothing. And that month… well… it was long. We were getting the house ready to move. We were growing tired of one another. And summer had lost its luster.
But, I do believe this year will be different. And why is that, you ask? Well, what’s my answer to all things these days? Because, cancer.
After a bit of a discombobulated school year, I plan to keep my boys with me a lot of the summer. I’ve currently not signed them up for anything but VBS. I might send the Oldest to one basketball camp, and he’s currently doing track. I’ve got a little plan for our daily routine but nothing set in stone. And otherwise, my plan is this, THE SUMMER OF GOODNESS.
I know. It’s like THE SUMMER OF GEORGE {and if you don’t know Seinfeld, then you have no idea of what I’m talking about}. Only this summer is about what else BUT… Goodness.
I realized during chemo that there are a lot of things I want to make sure my boys are learning about and recognizing and while they can learn a lot of them from school, I want us to have some of the experiences together. Because I received countless amounts of goodness. And because I want them to understand that. And because selfishly, I learn when they learn. And I love watching them when they start to “get it”.
So, what does the Summer of Goodness mean? What does it entail? Is it a lot of work? Is it a Pinterest lifestyle? Here’s the gist:
Each week of the summer, we will do one activity on one day that is my idea of teaching them something about GOODNESS. Because, as you know, goodness was poured upon us this last year. And I want them to see what it’s like to find goodness in life in the simple things, in the times of giving back, and in the times of learning.
So, I made a Goodness list. Not with them. This year, I made it on my own. And I haven’t even decided if I am telling them that it is the Summer of Goodness. Or if I will just tell them it’s our family theme for the summer. I definitely will not specifically tell them I want them to learn from these experiences because then, they will think they suck;). So, it’s a little bit of a covert op. A little bit of a selfish endeavor. And a little bit of a chance for them to pick up some important nuggets along the way.
If you, too, want to do a Summer of Goodness with your kids, sit down and think about what types of activities you might be interested in doing with them and the feasibility of actually completing them. This is similar to a summer bucket list but I can’t say yes to getting 30 some things squeezed in this summer. We have to have a laid-back, no shoes, popsicles on the porch, just-grateful-we’re-here summer.
So today, I share my list that I have planned… if you, too are thinking this sounds fun, what’s on your list? I will post more specifics about each activity when we do them. For now, here’s the broad idea.
Mama Brehm’s Summer of Goodness List
- Visit to Project Hope Emergency Pantry – tour and donate
- Eat lunch at Table Grace Cafe in Omaha and share the mission with the boys
- Visit our friends who give us eggs each week and see their farm
- Teach them about their heritage and family by visiting places from their grandparent’s past that they’ve never been
- VBS
- Visit nature center to discuss conservation and nature
- Taking snacks for chemo patients
- Deliver toys to Children’s Hospital
- Visit Humane Society
- Send Thank Yous
- Eat lunch and visit friend living in assisted living
- Visit Firefighter’s Station
- Practice radical hospitality by hosting playdates and events in our home
So those are it… our once a week Goodness events. All things that are low-cost. All things that will teach a different part of goodness. All once a week so as not to feel burnt out. And all things that we can do with a 7, 4, and 2 year old during the week… rain or shine.
I’m excited for this. I’m excited to show them some new things. To help them see love in action. And to help them understand a little bit of how good it feels to do good and be the good.
Project Hope… this week… and I’ve got a great group of mamas going with. Hopefully it’s a great way to kick it off! Let the Summer of Goodness begin!
Also… check out this awesome article that Littlethings.com put together on my chemo costumes. I was so thrilled that they reached out and am very hopeful that my story will help others going through the same situation… or other hard stuff. Thank you, Little Things for sharing Goodness.
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