18 Summers, Minus a Few

Nick has an 8th grade promotion ceremony this afternoon. I don’t really get the point of this, the same as I didn’t really get the point of it at the end of elementary school. I’m happy and proud to celebrate accomplishments in the lives of my kids, but moving on to high school is something I sort of expect. Secretly I think these ceremonies are just set up to make us parents reflect on how much our kids are growing up and remind us of the fact that we are getting old. I do sometimes wish that I could rewind time and go back to when my young men were little boys and they had to reach up to me for hugs rather than lean down to wrap their arms around me, but here we are. Soon I will be a Mom to not one, but two high school students, something that has many benefits, but also has me contemplating placing wine orders by the case. While at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration back in April we were treated to so much magic, which included some fantastic speakers, and while my memory can’t generate oodles of details, every now and then something that a speaker stated pops into my head and causes me to take a step back and consciously think about my kids and my time with them. One of those quotes came from Ann Foster, Director of Disney Destinations and Consumer Insights.

“You only have 18 summers with your kids, make memories now.” (That might not be the exact quote, but it’s pretty darn close.)

This struck me because I have less summers left with my kids than I’ve already shared with them. I started to panic a little as my mind raced to think about the summers we’ve shared and what kinds of memories they will take with them into adulthood. Will they only remember the disappointments or will the happy times take the lead as they reminisce about growing up? These questions are actually some that I ask myself every so often. Had I heard that quote from Ann when they Cody and Nick were both little it may have impacted our summers, or maybe not, but I can tell you that going forward I hope they have at least one special memory from each summer to carry with them as they begin a new school year. As a matter of fact, I intend to make it a priority, whether it’s attending a family function or a sporting event, it’s going to be my mission to capture as many memories as we possibly can together, during the summer and all year round. Ideally I’d like my boys to be overflowing with wonderful stories to share rather than struggling to remember the good stuff from their childhood.