We were lucky enough to have spent four days in Nosara, Costa Rica in April. It was quite possibly one of our best family vacations to date. The humid sunny days lent themselves to doing whatever we wanted when we wanted. We lounged in the shade, swam in the ocean, rode horses along the shore and ate when we felt like it. These are the kinds of days I’m longing for as summer approaches. Time to do what we please or nothing at all. With 8 days left in the school year, I can hardly wait for our summer to begin.
Ever since my kids started grade school, there has been a sudden speeding up of time. Now that they are all in school, the days turn to weeks, the weeks to months and before we know it, the 4th of July is here again! I enjoy our slower rhythm of summer and miss it dearly between September and June. It’s the kind of living I strive for during the rest of the school year, an intentional beat to our days when commitments and ‘have-tos’ begin to pile up.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes by writer, Katrina Kennison. She has written three beautiful books on motherhood and life in general, Mitten Strings for God being the one book in my home I’ve revisited more than any other in my life. Her writing has always helped me in times when I need to regain my perspective and remember who I am and the mother I strive to be.
I’m learning that if I don’t take the time to tune in to my own more deliberate pace, I end up moving to someone else’s, the speed of events around me setting a tempo that leaves me feeling scattered and out of touch with myself.
I hope your summer allows for a slower parenting style at home or away. The ocean is always helpful too!
image credit | all images are my own + shot on location in Nosara, Costa Rica
