Every summer, I question myself. While families around us are filling their calendars with camps, activities, and plans, I intentionally leave a large part of our girls' summer open. And even though I've done this for years, I still find myself wondering if I should be doing more. Then August comes around, and I'm reminded why I keep making the same choice. Our summers aren't empty. There is competitive swim, travel, time with grandparents and extended family, friends, camping, sleepaway camp and plenty of adventures along the way. But there are also mornings when the girls sleep until their bodies wake them up. Afternoons spent reading, building Legos, riding bikes, lying in hammocks or wandering around trying to figure out what to do next. And yes, sometimes they're bored. In this episode, we look back on another Big Rest Summer and ask whether children really need every open space in their lives filled for them. During the school year, so much of a child's time already belongs to someone else. Teachers, coaches, homework, practices, activities and schedules determine what happens next. Summer can offer something completely different: the opportunity to listen to themselves. Maybe boredom isn't always something parents need to fix. Maybe sleeping late doesn't mean a child is lazy. Maybe an afternoon that produces absolutely nothing still has value. And then our conversation took an unexpected turn. We realized this isn't only about children. Somewhere along the way, many adults have lost the ability to do exactly what we're giving our kids permission to practice. We don't know how to stop. We live in a culture that places enormous value on productivity, and eventually it can become difficult to separate what we accomplish from how we feel about ourselves. An empty afternoon can make us restless. Sitting still can feel irresponsible. Rest often comes with the nagging thought that there is something more useful we should be doing. So maybe our kids aren't the only ones who need a Big Rest Summer. Perhaps we need seasons in our adult lives when we intentionally step out of constant production long enough to hear ourselves again. Not because we've stopped caring about our responsibilities, but because self-regulation also means recognizing when it's time to push and when it's time to recover. Children eventually have to learn how to manage their own energy, time and attention. Adults do too. Maybe one of the greatest things we can teach our children isn't how to stay busy. It's how to recognize when they need rest without believing something is wrong with them for needing it. And perhaps we could stand to learn the same lesson. Every summer I worry that I'm not giving my kids enough. By August, I usually realize that maybe what I gave them was time. And this year, I'm realizing that might be something the rest of us need a little more of too. For guided meditations, workshops, yoga classes, breathwork, recipes, and a community dedicated to living with greater awareness and intention, visit AwakeningsOnline.net. If you're in the Raleigh area and would like support through massage therapy, therapeutic yoga, corrective exercise, wellness coaching, acupuncture, and holistic health services, visit AwakeningsHealth.com.
