There have been years that as much as I wanted to just let summer be summer for the kids--all of us hanging out by the pool, being silly and spontaneous--that just didn't happen. For the most part, the behavior issues associated with fetal alcohol syndrome got in the way. Despite our best intentions, things just didn't go as we had planned and I would find myself thinking that I should never have let myself dream of the carefree days of summer.
This summer, we decided to keep everyone home from summer school and really make an attempt to simplify our life. While lack of structure can prove destructive to families who have high behavioral needs, I had a hunch that our kids with these kinds of needs were relatively stable. So far so good. We are into our 2nd week of summer and we are having a great time. Maybe it is because that last time we added an FAS kid to our family was 5 years ago now (Kaden.) Maybe it is because we actually have made some progress with our kids. Our maybe tomorrow things will take a different turn--one that can come out of nowhere and throw things out of whack for the whole crew.
So while things are going really well, we are going to do our best to hang out, enjoy each other, and celebrate this crazy life God has given us. And in the rough times, I think I will make a mental note to return to this post and remind myself that sometimes things do run smoothly. What a gift these moments are.
