I don’t know about you, but at this point in the summer, I feel IT. This “IT” is a phenomenon that I first learned at Jewish overnight camp called “the sixth week of camp.” In the sixth week of camp (literally or figuratively), everyone slumps. The shiny novelty of the exciting experience has worn off and the day-to-day routine has started to feel monotonous, even drudgerous (you know what I mean!).
While the summer has definitively not yet ended, we can feel the days slipping faster and faster away. As I find myself washing water bottles and bathing suits for the millionth time, packing lunches, and applying sun screen with a fraction of my brain capacity, the other part of my brain wonders: where did the summer even go? Will I get to check off the items on my aspirational summer bucket list? Beach? Check. Family hike? Nope. Hosting those new friends for a Shabbat BBQ? Not yet. I wonder sometimes at this point in the summer — what did we even do? And in those moments, here’s what I like to tell myself. Parenting is about priorities. What you prioritize, you make happen. So when I feel the sixth week slump coming over me, I try to call to mind some of the many things I have successfully prioritized this summer.
Here are two:
- Priority Number 1: Teaching my kids to get themselves packed and out the door all by themselves. Here’s how I did it: I created a visual check list that lives by the door. Allow enough time for them to complete the check list (you can set a timer and give them a challenge to “beat the clock”). Remember what Ross Greene says: Kids do well if they CAN — so make sure they know HOW to do every item on the list, or set them up for success by prepping what they can’t do ahead of time so they feel some early wins. Are we successful? Many more days than we were before! Do they earn a reward of listening to Moana 2 if they make it into the car in time? Absolutely! Am I sick of Moana 2? You bet I am!
- Priority Number 2: Slowing down and spending time with my kids when they can be off schedule, low demand, and on their own rhythm. Here’s how I did it: We embraced Shabbat, an ancient Jewish tradition that draws our attention to the ideals that matter the most: family, rest, play, face-to-face connection, and community. We said “yes” to less overstimulating events and we hosted smaller gatherings that felt more our speed.
What have you prioritized? It can’t be everything, because that’s not how priorities work. But when you look at it like that, what were your goals this summer and what have you achieved?
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