Shooting Star Night
It's about this time every summer when I start to regret the way we have spent our time together.
Too much Netflix.
Too much XBox.
Too much fighting.
Too many late nights and sleeping in until noon.
Too many episodes of Good Luck Charlie.
Too grumpy of a mommy.
Not enough reading.
Not enough math facts.
Not enough writing.
Not enough swimming.
Not enough Uno games.
Not enough goals met.
Not enough intentional, purposeful time.
This mommy guilt is FOR REAL, MAN. It can drown you if you're not careful. Especially when your dramatic 7 year old declares it "the worst summer ever" (except for the Disney cruise, which was credited to Mamaw and Papaw. As far as she was concerned, mom had done absolutely nothing fun).
And then pile on the guilt of having to manage the fun-money expenditure. (We had major life lessons on budgeting this summer. And let's face it--No kid ever puts "learn principles of money management" on their summer to-do list.) The temptation is to fall into the trap of thinking that I have to spend a ton of money to entertain these monkeys 24/7. Trampoline park at $14 a kid for an hour--ONE HOUR!! Forty bucks minimum for lunch at Chick-fil-a. Can't get out of the movies for less than a hundred dollar bill. Putt-Putt! Roller skating! Ice cream! Slushies! Laser tag! Bowling! AAAAAAAHHHHH!! Summer can suck you dry if you're not careful. But then which is worse? Mommy guilt or massive credit card bills? We can have tons of fun, but at what cost? The struggle is real. Especially when even after emptying my wallet, I hear "I'm bored" or "Can we stop for a snack?" as soon as we get in the car.
And now they're going back out into the big scary world of school and I've lost my precious summer opportunities to pour into them, snuggle them, love them, guide them, and enjoy them.
Any other mommies out there feeling the same way?
Thankfully, the Lord knows my heart and gives me nights like tonight to cherish.
The 2nd week of August every year is our end-of-summer tradition of watching the Perseid meteor showers. We call it "shooting star night". This is probably our 10th year of staying up reeeeeeeaaallly late or getting up reeeeeeeaaallly early to watch the sky. One summer we ended up on the tennis courts at a local park at 2 in the morning and the cops showed up. The kids were terrified that mommy was going to jail! Another time, we drove out into the country and away from city lights until we found a place to park. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a cemetery and there was a very creepy cow nearby making a very creepy MOOOOOO, and so the kids were too freaked out about zombies to come out of the car. #mommyfail Nevertheless, we still look forward to this night just before school starts each year.
Since we were staying up late anyway, I decided to finally follow through on my promise of a spa night. We kicked out all the boys and declared Le Spa de Beehn (aka our kitchen) a "no phone zone". Julie put on some relaxing nature music on the Apple TV. Leah mixed up a homemade mud mask (cinnamon + nutmeg + honey). Lizzy made sure everyone had on a robe. Elena cut some cucumbers to put over eyes. One by one, I washed their hair in the sink and put in a super-duper conditioner. Then they applied their DIY facial mask and rested on the couch while all the beauty treatments worked their magic. Giggles abounded...until the cinnamon started burning and the nutmeg started itching, then we quickly washed it off. (Lesson learned: don't apply Pinterest recipes on sunburned cheeks.) Sam even joined in (but will fiercely deny it if questioned).
Once all faces were washed, hair rinsed and brushed, and everyone felt refreshed, we gathered all the blankets in the house, headed out to the trampoline and fixed our eyes on the sky. And that's when the magic began.
Immediately, all Beehn kids gasped in unison as they saw a brilliant, blazing meteor streak across the sky. That one moment was worth more than all the fun money spent all summer. For more than an hour, we snuggled under the blankets and counted all the stars we could see. We sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" a couple dozen times (apologies to sleeping neighbors). We talked about the weirdest dreams we have ever had. We played a game called "whose leg in that?" because we couldn't quite tell who was who under that pile of people. And then we just laid there in silence. Occasionally, one would whisper, "did you see that one?" Total shooting star count = 32. Priceless.
Oh my heart is full. Thank you Jesus. Mama needed this night. My kids needed this night. My house looks like a war zone, but who cares?
Total investment = $3 for the mega-hair-conditioner plus what I already had in the pantry. Guilt free.
Mommies, if you've never watched the shooting stars with your kids, DO IT. Break all bedtime rules, let them stay up late, gather up your blankets, avoid super-scary zones like cemeteries and park tennis courts, and get outside with your babies. Talk about the Milky Way. Discuss the solar system, tails of comets, and constellations. The Perseids continue for the next couple of nights, so there's still time before they are gone until next August. Oh, you won't regret the wonder and the magic that comes from this time together.
As I go to sleep tonight, I have the words of this song in my head:
May we never lose our wonder.
May we never lose our wonder.
Wide eyed and mystified,
May we be just like a child,
Staring at the beauty of our king.
I would say there's a 93.7% chance of Netflix, XBox, and whining tomorrow....but I'm so thankful for Shooting Star (and Spa) Night 2015.
Too much Netflix.
Too much XBox.
Too much fighting.
Too many late nights and sleeping in until noon.
Too many episodes of Good Luck Charlie.
Too grumpy of a mommy.
Not enough reading.
Not enough math facts.
Not enough writing.
Not enough swimming.
Not enough Uno games.
Not enough goals met.
Not enough intentional, purposeful time.
This mommy guilt is FOR REAL, MAN. It can drown you if you're not careful. Especially when your dramatic 7 year old declares it "the worst summer ever" (except for the Disney cruise, which was credited to Mamaw and Papaw. As far as she was concerned, mom had done absolutely nothing fun).
And then pile on the guilt of having to manage the fun-money expenditure. (We had major life lessons on budgeting this summer. And let's face it--No kid ever puts "learn principles of money management" on their summer to-do list.) The temptation is to fall into the trap of thinking that I have to spend a ton of money to entertain these monkeys 24/7. Trampoline park at $14 a kid for an hour--ONE HOUR!! Forty bucks minimum for lunch at Chick-fil-a. Can't get out of the movies for less than a hundred dollar bill. Putt-Putt! Roller skating! Ice cream! Slushies! Laser tag! Bowling! AAAAAAAHHHHH!! Summer can suck you dry if you're not careful. But then which is worse? Mommy guilt or massive credit card bills? We can have tons of fun, but at what cost? The struggle is real. Especially when even after emptying my wallet, I hear "I'm bored" or "Can we stop for a snack?" as soon as we get in the car.
And now they're going back out into the big scary world of school and I've lost my precious summer opportunities to pour into them, snuggle them, love them, guide them, and enjoy them.
Any other mommies out there feeling the same way?
Thankfully, the Lord knows my heart and gives me nights like tonight to cherish.
The 2nd week of August every year is our end-of-summer tradition of watching the Perseid meteor showers. We call it "shooting star night". This is probably our 10th year of staying up reeeeeeeaaallly late or getting up reeeeeeeaaallly early to watch the sky. One summer we ended up on the tennis courts at a local park at 2 in the morning and the cops showed up. The kids were terrified that mommy was going to jail! Another time, we drove out into the country and away from city lights until we found a place to park. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a cemetery and there was a very creepy cow nearby making a very creepy MOOOOOO, and so the kids were too freaked out about zombies to come out of the car. #mommyfail Nevertheless, we still look forward to this night just before school starts each year.
Since we were staying up late anyway, I decided to finally follow through on my promise of a spa night. We kicked out all the boys and declared Le Spa de Beehn (aka our kitchen) a "no phone zone". Julie put on some relaxing nature music on the Apple TV. Leah mixed up a homemade mud mask (cinnamon + nutmeg + honey). Lizzy made sure everyone had on a robe. Elena cut some cucumbers to put over eyes. One by one, I washed their hair in the sink and put in a super-duper conditioner. Then they applied their DIY facial mask and rested on the couch while all the beauty treatments worked their magic. Giggles abounded...until the cinnamon started burning and the nutmeg started itching, then we quickly washed it off. (Lesson learned: don't apply Pinterest recipes on sunburned cheeks.) Sam even joined in (but will fiercely deny it if questioned).
Once all faces were washed, hair rinsed and brushed, and everyone felt refreshed, we gathered all the blankets in the house, headed out to the trampoline and fixed our eyes on the sky. And that's when the magic began.
Immediately, all Beehn kids gasped in unison as they saw a brilliant, blazing meteor streak across the sky. That one moment was worth more than all the fun money spent all summer. For more than an hour, we snuggled under the blankets and counted all the stars we could see. We sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" a couple dozen times (apologies to sleeping neighbors). We talked about the weirdest dreams we have ever had. We played a game called "whose leg in that?" because we couldn't quite tell who was who under that pile of people. And then we just laid there in silence. Occasionally, one would whisper, "did you see that one?" Total shooting star count = 32. Priceless.
Oh my heart is full. Thank you Jesus. Mama needed this night. My kids needed this night. My house looks like a war zone, but who cares?
Total investment = $3 for the mega-hair-conditioner plus what I already had in the pantry. Guilt free.
Mommies, if you've never watched the shooting stars with your kids, DO IT. Break all bedtime rules, let them stay up late, gather up your blankets, avoid super-scary zones like cemeteries and park tennis courts, and get outside with your babies. Talk about the Milky Way. Discuss the solar system, tails of comets, and constellations. The Perseids continue for the next couple of nights, so there's still time before they are gone until next August. Oh, you won't regret the wonder and the magic that comes from this time together.
As I go to sleep tonight, I have the words of this song in my head:
May we never lose our wonder.
May we never lose our wonder.
Wide eyed and mystified,
May we be just like a child,
Staring at the beauty of our king.
I would say there's a 93.7% chance of Netflix, XBox, and whining tomorrow....but I'm so thankful for Shooting Star (and Spa) Night 2015.
Comments
Post a Comment