Summer holidays are a time when we often let go. We relax our bodies, allowing the tension to pour out of them. We switch off our minds, focusing only on such important matter as choosing which book to open next. We release our fun spirit, playing daft things with the kids on the beach we’d be far too busy to do any other time.
We even cease to care about what people think of us (we’re somewhere no one knows us so does it matter I have a bright yellow sarong on which makes me look like a . . . well, let’s not go there). We abandon bed times, throw away routines and relinquish our need to plan out each day with military precision.
We may let our children go a little further afield on a new adventure. If we are lucky, we even forget about worries, niggles and frustrations from our every day life – it’s almost like they really don’t matter.
Summer is also a time where we enter another phase of letting our children go. Yes, even when we have little children this process is beginning – we often use the more relaxed time to try out new things (eg potty training, new foods, new places).
When our children are older, we use summer to get them ready (ie more independent = we are letting go a little) before the next stage at school. And at the appropriate time, we gather up all our resources to let them go away from home. Of course, this is not letting go as we might an unhelpful habit or some clutter – we are letting go in the sense of enabling, making it easier for our growing up children to find their path, spread their wings, follow their dreams.
What are you ready to let go of this summer?
Originally featured in Roots and Wings, July 2012
a2changeblog 