You’ll find Judy Dudich having summertime fun with her family in the beautiful woods of Pennsylvania and online at Homeschool Faith and Family Life, Benmakesten, and at her weekly column at CatholicMom.com. Thanks, Judy, for joining us here this week!
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(Sing to the tune of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music):
Freeze pops on porches and walks in the thick woods
Running a foot race and no need for warm hoods
Puppies that shed all over the place
These are the things of our long summer days!
When the ticks come
When the sun burns
When we’re feeling bored
We simply remember our great summer days and then we all long……FOR MORE!
Truly, summer time is a gift of the Lord! We who live in the Eastern lands of the United States are usually breaking away from our formal school lessons and slipping into days that are meant to be slower-paced, relaxing, refreshing, exciting, adventurous, and FUN!
Our family loves the outdoors. Thus, much of our time is spent there in the summer. God has supplied an abundance of sacred moments and hidden blessings in the simple pleasures and ordinary passing of days for families in the summer season.
We do our best to notice these, to thank Him for them, and to embrace the beauty of the season by joining together in lots of physical exercise, plenty of nature exploration, fun crafts, quiet moments, sports, leisure, and family projects like gardening and berry-picking for the making of homemade jam!
Friends visiting.
Kids running around in the dark, catching fireflies.
Turning the hose on for good old – fashioned water fun on a hot day.
Listening: God’s summer symphony is always resounding on a quiet summer evening!
Crickets, bird-song, babbling creek, leaves rustling in a cool breeze, children giggling, locusts humming…
The sounds of summer are the sounds of God’s awesome Creation! They evoke feelings of comfort, security, peace, joy, and wonder!
It makes little difference whether your preference is to travel or stay home.
It makes little difference whether you have lots of extra cash to spend or none.
What matters is spending summer time together as a family.
In years past, when we’ve been unable to travel, we have enjoyed “Staycations” at home! We turn our house into a beach villa; seashells here and there, lots of flowers, decorations with an “ocean” theme, etc… Menu and activities planned for the week. No phone, no computer, television for movie viewing only, no electronic devices and no work . This is an inexpensive, wonderful way to make summer time memorable and fun!
A season set apart!
Bright sun, delicious crops getting ready for harvest, time to linger and enjoy each other’s company…
Summer days are family days and are also a perfect time for welcoming others into our homes:
An elderly neighbor who might enjoy a tall, cool glass of iced tea on our porch.
A new family who might be very thankful to be invited for burgers on the grill.
A single person, a childless couple, someone who is lonely …
As we rejoice in our love of summer as a family, God offers us the opportunity to extend that love to others!
