In the bedroom across the hall is a long gangly boy that used to look surprisingl;y like the infant in the bassinet beside me.  And in the pink bedroom downstairs is a beautiful young woman who might grow completely up before I’m ready and leave home. And while their brothers and sister still seem small, they used to be so much smaller!

Where does the time go?  I still feel like a child myself in many ways, so how could I be the mother of so many–and so many big ones?!

Unless I take control of time and actively use it, life will continue on as it has and my children will leave home one by one and I will have regrets.  So today, I will take a moment and make some “bucket lists.”  What do I want my girls to know before they are wives?  And when and how will I teach it to them?  What skills should my boys have before they are husbands?  What memories do I want to make before the summer ends and school starts again?

I’ll be printing off calendars for June, July, and August and pencil in the memories and life skill building times so I can take action before time trickles away.  What’s on your parenting bucket list for this summer?

P.S.  I’ve found the best memories are made in surprisingly simple ways.  The most important thing to planting the seeds for  shared memory, is to set aside time to BE together.  It can be a very simple time of eating a meal outside instead of indoors.  Or a more elaborate time like a planned vacation.  And the best, longest lasting memories come when things didnt’ go according to plan, but the family bonded together and made the best of it.  So instead of stressing over things gone wrong, think of it as a future, “Remember the time…” story.