being unplugged and other summery ideas.

on sunday, i allowed my (unnamed) child

to borrow my phone.

then, we ended up eating at this place in portland

that has a fountain kids can play in.

this particular child walked up to me completely drenched

and handed me my iphone, equally drenched.

needless to say,

i've been unplugged for the last three days.

it makes me anxious to think of calls or texts i'm missing,

but i also feel this strange sort of freedom.

i went on a "date" with abigail last night~ 

just the girls.

as i was leaving, i told brian to remember that i don't have my phone.

that we would just come home when we felt ready.

i was able to focus on her so much better.

there weren't texts to answer,

emails to check,

or any other types of distractions.

i was truly present.

and if there is one thing i keep saying i want from the summer,

it's to be present with my kids.

to talk

to engage

to listen

to learn

to grow together.

i'm not exactly sure how to do this.

i get distracted and self consumed.

but before school let out for the summer break,

i thought of a basic weekly framework for our summer.

of course, it's stored in my phone so i can't access it,

but it goes something like this:

MONDAY: manage

(this is our big organizing and cleaning day. 

i hope to teach the kids more about maintaining a home... cooking, cleaning, organizing.

i have special projects to work on... like the shoe bins, the coat closet/hallway, their closets, etc.) 

TUESDAY: think

(i'm hoping to practice piano everyday with them this summer,

but tuesday and thursday i hope to go deeper with them.

we're going to work on khan academy, some history, reading together, library trips, etc.)

WEDNESDAY: make

(i have some ideas here that i'm collecting to do with them this summer.

this will be a hard one for me, because it takes planning ahead. ;)

but i also know how much they love to get their hands on a fun project.)

THURSDAY: think

(see tuesday; and don't worry, it's not like we'll stay in all day on these days,

i just want to make sure we have good, deeper stuff at least a couple of days.

also, i'll probably try to keep playdates on these days/afternoons if possible.)

FRIDAY: fun

(this is the day that brian usually can play with us...

i hope to do a lot of bike riding, hiking, exploring portland and oregon.

i'm really trying to think of free activities for this one.

when we do free stuff the kids seem more free

and we seem more engaged. 

maybe because free usually means natural big spaces to run around in.

so that it peeps.

my basic summer plan.

it's sort of simple, but that helps to keep it easy to remember.

i'm afraid of failure, but i'm also excited.

please feel free to share your summer ideas as well.

i'd love to hear them.

enjoy!!

oh and, if you've tried to get in touch over my cell phone...

now you know i'm not ignoring you!!