September has simply evaporated in front of me in the blink of an eye. Part of the month was wrapped up anticipating the hurricane and meeting with contractors for the subsequent repair work, though work has also been extremely demanding and only promises to become more challenging in the coming year.
It’s tempting to try to use the weekends to hibernate at home and rest up after a long week. The thing is though, as a family with two working parents, the weekend is the only time we really have quality time for outings and adventures with Max. I’ve challenged myself this summer to try to get out and about more with him on the weekend, even if we recovering from a crazy week of work obligations. At the end of the day, no one will give you this time back. You’ve got to make and take the time for your own life, trips with kids, and adventures as a family.
On a random Sunday morning earlier this month we made a last minute decision to do a family trip to Cocoa Beach for the day. It was a little gray and gloomy in Orlando, but we decided to make the hour long drive to the shore anyway. We always drive a little bit further through town and park at the first parking lot across from Patricks Air Force Base so there’s a little bit less of a crowd.
We didn’t end up having any rain at all and the clouds kept the hot sun off us for the day. Max played with squirt guns and shovels in the sand, and we watched the surfers ride waves in for hours. When he was ready to go home, Max told us “go” and simply started walking toward the beach ramp back to the parking lot on his own, with some toys in tow. (Don’t worry, we caught up with him quickly, but I love watching his little personality pop out and how quickly he is becoming an independent little boy.) I’ve included some of my favorite photos from our beach day in the post below.
So I encourage you, next time you want to hit the snooze button one more time, or sit the kiddos in front of the TV for a few hours… make the extra effort (sometimes its a lot, I know) and take the extra time (I know, there’s hardly any of it some days) to have an adventure or plan an activity outside with your family.
It may take an extra cup of coffee (or two, or three), but you will never regret it 10 or 20 years from now.
I promise.
