Monthly Mantra: June

This month's mantra is simple:  Summer.  Funny how this one word can bring back so many thoughts, feelings and memories.  Warmth, salty air, breezy nights, blinding sunshine.  Even though there's no such thing as a summer break in the adult world (unless you're a teacher or something), I still just get excited at the mere thought of summer.

Summer for me brings back memories of spending all day at the beach, tangled hair, giant cheeseburgers, shaved ice, sunburns and tan lines, living in bikinis, bright colors, lots of laughter and a sense of freedom.  With a full time job and three school-aged kids, summer is more stress than freedom for me now.  The cost of summer programs these days are ridiculous and summer school is more of a punishment than anything else.

For kids, summer is like the Vegas of childhood.  No rules, no schedule, just endless possibilities.  Growing up I always had so much fun being able to play outside and explore everything around me and experience life.  Back then we were able to ride our bikes around the neighborhood without fear of being kidnapped.  We would play and eventually argue with other kids and work out our differences and go back to being friends without being called out as "bullies" by their parents.  We didn't have channels that played cartoons 24/7 or iPads, we went outside and built a fort with a handsaw, hammer, and some nails.  We got dirty, we got in trouble.  We were able to be kids.

These days, it's so much harder for kids to be themselves.  Kids who explore their neighborhood on their own are marked as "hoodlums".  And, even worse, the parents who allow their kids to go outside and play unsupervised or explore the woods/jungle near their house are deemed as "neglectful".  Why is that?

It's time to take back our summers, people!  Kids should be able to play and grow and learn on their own in their own ways.  And us parents need a break from all the stress that society places on us to constantly be in contact with our kids.  We need a little freedom too, don't we?  Exactly.  So, for this month at least, let's try to remember the freedom and wonderful times of summer and encourage our kids to live a little.

So, what do you think of this month's mantra?  What does summer mean to you?  Do you think kids these days should have a little more freedom like we did?