How to Make Summer Awesome!

I thought this morning that this would be a great topic to write about even though I'm not perfect at it and everyone is different.  Still, I have learned a few helpful things over the years so I'll tell you those.

1.  Be flexible.  The weather might not be the way you want on a particular day, friends may or may not be available for playing, your energy level might be higher or lower than you thought, and any number of other variables may change.  We have the capability to change our plans to better match the reality of the day.

2.  Do the important things.  Decide what things are the most important to you, and make sure you do those.  These may be every day things like praying or watering the flowers, or they may be once a summer things like a trip to see cousins.

3.  Choose happiness.  Remember that everyone is responsible for their own happiness and you can't make anyone be happy.  Therefore, we need not to fall into the depths of despair when someone turns tragic over chores or something. (I'm not so good at this one, but it's a great idea!)

4.  Enjoy your children!  If you have children, you get to have them home with you!  This is a good time for teaching things you want them to know before they get old enough to leave home.  I have discovered that children grow up awfully fast.  This is your chance to teach them, and to enjoy being with them before they go off to be adults.

5.  Reasonable Expectations.  Have good expectations, but not impossible ones!  "Awesome" = Doing some of the things you want and being really happy at least some of the time.

6.  If things aren't working out like you hoped and planned, go back to #1.  It's okay to scrap the original plan for one that works better.  I've made lots of plans that haven't happened, but I've had lots of awesome Summers too.