Don’t Let the Month Of May Overwhelm You

May is the new December… especially if you have children in school!  There are picnics, band concerts, plays, choral recitals, piano recitals, end-of-year parties, dinners, graduations, start of summer sports, silent auctions, and a whole host of other activities.  

Multiply by the number of children in your household, and you can feel the stress rising!

Here are some tips to get you through the month of May with more serenity and less anxiety:

• Prioritize. Move as many doctor, dentist, orthodontist and other health visits to the summer or early fall if possible. There is no prize for getting everything on your list done this month.

Keep your own schedule free from non-essential activities.

• Volunteer for ONLY ONE THING! Stress trickles downhill, and the more things you take on, the more unruly your brood will become. Choose an even keel over a stormy sea.
• Keep your batteries charged. Now is the best time to do the things that make you feel renewed and energized: exercise, meditate, walk, run, do yoga, read in the hammock, get pizza instead of cooking…

Follow your own leads. When you keep yourself refreshed, you are a great gift to your family.

• Be intentional about family time. Call a fun Family Meeting to discuss each person’s Summer Dreams.

Everyone lists five things they want to do over the summer and shares them with the family. The only rule is that no one can put down another’s dreams.

See if you can find ways to combine and take turns to fulfill as many as possible. Take out a calendar and schedule whatever you can.

• Summer reading lists usually come home in May. Reserve the books at the library, visit your favorite bookstore, or plan to “split” the books with other parents and share them.

It’s good to incorporate reading time into summer schedules from the beginning.

If you can choose just one of the ideas above and implement it, you should notice that this May is a little less stressful than those in previous years.

You might even find that you enjoy your days!

Share other ideas for making summer more intentional on the Facebook Page for Growing Peaceful Families.

Look for the invitation to share posted on www.facebook.com/pages/Growing-Peaceful-Families/204611516234278