How will you answer?
As I sit and write this, it’s the first full day of our summer vacation. I’m sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and there’s a cool breeze. It’s almost cool enough for a jacket out here. The birds are trying to outdo each other as they sing their loudest songs.
My teens are still sleeping. We drove to my parents house the minute school got out and they stayed out at the pool until well after 9:00. Their summer has officially begun the same way mine always did. They are with friends and they are at the pool.
There’s something about a swimming pool that makes time and worry slip away. Hours can pass by as they listen to music and no one even thinks about checking their Instagram or Twitter. They are unplugged and they actually talk to each other and to me. It’s precious and I treasure it.
I have a friend who has struggled with communicating with her teen lately, but when she gets her in their pool, they float and talk and all is right with the world.
I witnessed the same phenomenon at a youth group gathering at a pool last week. They played pool games and they laughed and talked. They were in the moment with the people in front of them. No one was tethered to a phone.
The beginning of summer is always magical time. Our pace slows down. We plan vacations. We head to the lake, or the beach, or the mountains. We eat watermelon and tomato sandwiches. We make homemade ice cream.We grow fresh produce in our gardens and plant brightly colored flowers. We cook out. We spend time on the porch. We camp and spend time around the campfire. We attend family reunions. We gather with friends outdoors for meals and drinks.
It’s the time of year where we spend the most time outside in Creation, God’s personal cathedral, built with His own creativity, to His liking. It’s the time of year, when Creation itself seems to beckon us to slow down and come and sit a while with a glass of tea or lemonade. For a season, we are called to appreciate the slower pace. We all get to live in Mayberry, if we choose.
The teens have awakened and are sitting on the porch swing laughing and talking. They eat breakfast outside and head to the pool. I still see no electronics anywhere.
We can learn a lesson from them if we are wise. We can treasure the long days and the porch and the pool. We can get outside and create quiet space to appreciate all of God’s fabulous gifts in nature. We can unplug and spend less time on Facebook telling the world what a good time we are having and actually get out there and have such a good time with the people in our lives who we have been blessed with, that we don’t even want to stop for a moment to put it on social media. They can’t really get it anyway, if they aren’t there.
The best times have always been with the people in front of us, not the ones in cyberspace. The summer beckons. How will you answer?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂