A while ago, I told you that during the early brainstorming phases of Let Why Lead, I penned the question, “Why do I live?” in my journal. I already shared the first of four bullet points I came up with:
“1. Because my Heavenly Father wanted me to experience life on earth and all that comes with it (peace, joy, exhaustion, love, pain, family, etc.).”
Today, I’m sharing the next reason I live.
“2. Because I want to give my children a joyful childhood.”
By the end of summer, I was struggling with this. I was so ready for the bit of structure we gain from the preschool schedule. Afternoons were languishing endlessly, and I let my oldest watch more TV than I would like. Unlike his little brother, he has an extremely hard time entertaining himself without help.
So with the breath of fresh air that fall (and a return to preschool!) brings, I’m on a mission to make their childhood more joyful. It’s easy for me as long as we’re getting out of the house, but we also spend a fair amount of time at home, and I want them to remember making memories—creating, playing, laughing.
This week I’ll be sharing some ideas on how to encourage a child who can’t entertain himself (or herself, as the case may be). And how to make memories at home.
Because childhood is meant to be joyful, and we only get to experience it once!
This is a thought that’s close to my heart! I spent my first Summer at home with Kennedy this year and a lot of the time I felt like I was just trying to “get through it”. When I look back on it, I think there were a lot of great memories made, but I am trying to use this time, now with a bit more structure, to be more intentional in creating happy fun times at home and hopefully not feel so exasperated by it all.
I TOTALLY agree with the whole fall school thing. I LOVE summer, don’t get me wrong, but after three months of free frall I am in desperate need of structure, and so are my boys! Fall also re-motivates me as a Mom, and now with one little one left behind as the two older boys go off to school, I’m having to refocus a lot of attention on him to help ease his transition. Looking forward to your future posts on this topic!
That’s funny – I have one who can entertain herself with no problem and one who, well, can’t too!