My granddaughters are soon to be home for summer. With only a dance recital on June 3 and a commuter basketball camp, the girls are set for some carefree time with their parents. One more round of swimming lessons, and they will be good to go for pool time. If all goes as planned, their Aunt Julie will welcome them to North Carolina in July.
However, the summer of 2023 is shaping up to provide them with what the girls enjoy most: playing outside and “pretend play” inside. Just last weekend, after baseball in the front yard, the girls and I moved indoors. I found myself a vital role-player at Rosie’s Grocery Store, Rosie’s School, Rosie’s Daycare, Lillie’s Vet Clinic, and church. I shopped, was sent to the principal’s office, burped two baby dolls, took a stuffed lion’s temperature, and was saved—in that order.
Lillie and Ellie wake up, as most children do, ready to live. When I pull up in front of their house, they still shoot through the door and run to greet me. I reciprocate that joy. These little girls cannot know childhood will end—that blissful naivete is part of what makes them so happy. Their maternal grandmother knows well the trajectory of time and uses this knowledge to “be in the moment” with them every chance she gets.
As summertime approaches, many families will find themselves at the ballpark twice a week. Some will be involved with weekend travel ball or stock shows, rodeo events, church activities, and possibly summer school. Just promise me, young parents, that you will listen to your little ones. Let them help set the schedules, too.
It might be children are ready for a break or some down time to play grocery store with their siblings or kickball in the front yard with the neighbors. Maybe they want to ride a horse or walk their dogs just for the fun of it. Spend a day in the kitchen making a mess and a cake and call it a day well spent. Of course, farm work and ranch work are a part of the equation for some children. Balance that, when possible, with library visits or museum days, watching the old Disney “Peter Pan” followed by Disney’s newly released “Peter and Wendy,” or play Uno. Take out old family photos and see if your children can identify which ones are their aunts and uncles or grandparents when they were children.
Pile into the family vehicle and go. Those moments matter, too. But make time to open the door to simple everyday living before the window of childhood closes. It seals shut before you know it.
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West Texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
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