Dear Children of Mine,

Oh, how I love you. You make my world better. You are smart and funny and kind and generous. You are the children I never dreamed I always wanted. But this summer I have something to say to you:

GET. OUT.

It’s summer. It’s the time when possibilities are endless. Homeschool finished weeks ago, your friends are finally out of school, it isn’t snowing for the first time in forever, and there are no demands on your time.

So get out.

I am not your cruise director. I’m not your camp counselor. I’m not your maid nor your shop clerk nor your chauffeur. My job is not to entertain you. My job is to teach you how to be self-sufficient, responsible adults who contribute to a functioning society. That job does not include planning every hour of the day. It doesn’t mean making your summer magical with activities and crafts galore. It doesn’t mean entertaining you and your friends from the neighborhood when you’re all bored five minutes into the day.

Get out. Go.

Go entertain yourselves. You have it in you! You are creative, you are imaginative, you are playful. You are amazing kids. Go out and create imaginary worlds in the woods. Walk the creek. Catch crawdads and salamanders. Marvel at the great outdoors. Run and bike and laugh yourself silly. Collapse when you’re tired into the grass and stare at the clouds in the sky. Climb trees and build forts and create secret clubhouses that only you and your friends know the secret passwords to. Read books, lay in the hammock, and rest.

I don’t care if you entertain yourselves indoors or out. Play video games. Make popsicles. Read books. Create indoor forts. Build computers with your friends. Build impossible marble runs. Paint and draw. Create plays and perform them for each other.

Just get out and do it.

I will be here to encourage you and empower you. But I won’t plan it, I won’t tell you how to do it or what you should do. I won’t answer your beck and call every fifteen minutes because you know how to do these things on your own. If you’re bored, fix it. I’m not going to. I’m not going to come up with some super-clever ten step craft to keep you occupied. I’m not going to drive you from day camp to day camp or VBS to VBS. The biggest gift I can give you this summer is letting you figure this out on your own. The biggest gift I can give you is the freedom to be bored–and the magic that comes after that.

I love you, and I can’t wait to see what amazing things you come up with this summer!

Love,

Mom