Enjoying our leisurely summer

I have never been the mom who wants to sign my kids up for constant summer activities. I look at summer as a chance to regroup and revitalize from the hectic happenings of the busy school year.

As a teacher and mom of two toddlers, I welcome the lack of schedule not just for myself, but also for my kids. We put so much pressure on ourselves to make things fun and inundate our schedules with various activities for the perfect Instagram post to show we are having a wonderful summer in an effort to keep up with the Joneses.

I really have made a point this summer to keep it simple. I am still at an advantage having such small children that if you give them a popsicle, they may as well have been taken to Disney World for the afternoon. I see this time as a fleeting moment and want to just soak in all that I can with my kids. They’re only going to be little once. There are only so many summers where they can have agenda-free days to do as little as they please.

I have taken full advantage of the multitude of free opportunities that Hamilton County, particularly Fishers, has to offer by going to the many parks, free summer concerts in Nickel Plate, and the wonderful farmer’s markets. These are free things to do and family-friendly activities to get you out of the house and not make a dent in your budget.

I have purposely had days where we just stay home and do nothing except sit in our driveway and check out which of our flowers have bloomed. Sometimes I just let them crash and watch TV because downtime is OK and there’s nothing wrong with your kids having time to just camp out. I’m sick of the people who act like it’s the devil’s box and you’re a lazy or bad parent if you let your kids have their days where they just relax and have a home day and crash.

The Rathz kids, Mary and Pat, are enjoying a fun, leisurely summer together. (Photo provided by Megan Rathz)

Just as summer will soon come to a close when I blink my eyes, I know that my children, too, will grow up and I will look back on these leisurely days of summer and long for them. I have made it my mission to make this the summer of popsicles, berry picking, ice cream, learning, picnics, parades, blowing bubbles, staying in pjs, building forts, reading, parks, sidewalk chalk, paper airplanes, gardening, and most importantly, PLAY.

We planted a vegetable garden as a family. Each day we check on it to see the status of our plants. We talk about what individual plants are and we all share a part in the watering of our garden. My children planted seeds at the start of the season and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor as the pepper plants sprout and sunflower stalks take hold of our gardens.

We don’t have a big and exotic trip planned this summer, but I have made a point to take trips to the honey farm so my kids can see how bees make honey. We learned different things about local food by talking to folks at the farmer’s market. Every time we go to the Indianapolis Zoo or The Children’s Museum, we try to learn something new.

Sometimes when I’m in the throes of a toddler meltdown at the grocery store and an older person comes up to me and says, “Enjoy this. It goes so fast,” I find myself appreciative of their sentiment, but also somewhat annoyed because while it’s very sweet, I have a two-year-old having a meltdown over something ridiculous while I am trying not to lose my ever-loving mind.

The thing is, though, when I have a chance to calm down and regain clarity from an epic toddler tantrum, I do realize that they are right. This is going to go by fast; it already is.

Just as the season of summer will soon come to a close, I know that this chapter in my life with two toddlers will, too. For now, I am going to keep things simple and let them be little. I am also going to try to not lose my you know what the next time they’re in hysterics in public and remind myself that someday I am going to miss this.

Megan Rathz is a wife, mother, and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.