Tag: Summer

You are sitting on a bench at your local playground. It’s sunny (despite Michigan’s temperamental weather). Your gaze begins to wander and settles on children climbing. They are climbing everywhere. It’s amazing, actually, how many things children can climb on. You further notice how they run, walk, slide down slides, play tag, squeal with delight on swings. Toddlers trundle off in a big, new-to-them world. They seem to take up space with ease; it’s their world, we’re just living in it. They are so sure that they belong wherever they go. Do you have this scene? For me, this imagined space invites lots of emotions: joy, wonder, delight, curiosity, and sadness. Yes, sadness. Because I, as an adult, have a harder time feeling so present and excited and happy and confident of belonging. I have more awareness and more to my story as to why these emotions make sense for me.

What is play, and why does it make sense for all humans of ...

Three frogs are sitting on a log. Two frogs decide to jump off. How many frogs are still sitting on a log? Seems like a very straight forward question, but I’d be really curious how you answered. The correct answer is three. Three frogs are still sitting on the log, because having decided to do something is not the same as actually doing something.

I see people wrestle with being a frog on a log all the time. Sometimes it’s in the smaller things, a new year’s resolution or a diet or exercise program. Other times it’s in the bigger realm of making important changes in life, choices that if acted upon would lead to more freedom in how they live and interact with others. But often times we get stuck in the place between making a plan or decision for change, and actually putting change into action.

The thing that most often gets in the way of action is fear. Life on the other side of cha ...

            Well it is almost here.  That time of year where we have waited all winter long for. To get out and enjoy this beautiful area we call West Michigan.  Schools are out and the kids are just itching to get outside (not itching from the poison ivy like me.)  Summer is the time of year our kids get rejuvenated, they get their batteries charged up from being cooped up in a school, drained from all the academia, the sports, the homework, dance lessons, and anything else they have on their plate to keep them occupied and well rounded through out the year. 

            Parents you have this great opportunity to let your kid be a kid and enjoy this time of year together.  Some of a child’s fondest memories are the times spent with parents camping.  Whether it is at a camp ground, the rented cottage at the lake, or just a ...