Spring Cleaning...

Hi!

I’ve been thinking about Spring… we are dangerously close.

Having grown up in the Mid-West, and having lived there for most of my life, I know the wild anticipation of Spring. 

It was palpable!

It was the signal that our local Dairy Queen would soon be opening…  a seasonal rite of passage… warm weather was coming.

As a kid, once we hit 45 degrees, after a long winter, all bets were off... shorts would soon be the new daily norm…

Now, as an adult, I have chosen to nix the whole winter thing and spend winters in a warm place…maybe I am getting wiser!

But, I digress…

I’m thinking as warm weather returns, and the days get longer, it’s a time for renewal.

What kinds of things do you want to change, add, remove or do differently in your life?

How about your kids' lives?

I’m thinking this is a great time of year for a family Spring cleaning… out with the old, in with the new.

At dinner, start a family discussion about what everyone is doing and what’s going on in their lives. 

Each age group, will of course, have different thoughts about this sharing… little kids will be very open, pre teens, and teenagers… maybe not so much, but keep trying!

By starting the discussion, opening the opportunity for change, you are letting the family dialogue grow, providing a setting for renewal and growth.

My grandmother used this great line, “The only thing constant in life is change.”  And, as I evolve each year in my own life, I know this to be true.

Each family member could share one thing that they thought was going really well in their lives, and one thing they wanted to improve or change.

By starting this discussion, and I think earlier in life is better, you plant the idea that change, growth, and evolving, are just a normal and healthy part of life.

As parents, we get the chance to demonstrate our own willingness to be candid, honest, and model behavior for our kids that we know is healthy and necessary.

Out with the old, in with the new… change, evolve, grow.

Help kids know that change, growth, renewal is inevitable and embrace the power in that!

That’s it…

Oh, and then go to Dairy Queen, if you have one in your area, and continue the discussion on a nice picnic bench!

Until next time,

Pam

p.s.  Happy Spring!