re: How do/did you “soak it up” with your kids? Time going fast with kids spin off.

As they get older those moments will diminish. Just spend time with them.

Fishing and deer camp.

Mine was lullabyes every night I was with them



I miss That soooooo much

As I mentioned in the other thread, my daughter was exceptionally intelligent, and matured mentally at lightning speed. As for "soaking up" the time with her, as a single parent I was her source code for everything. By age three she was identified as being profoundly gifted. She freely expressed her interests, and I tried to expose her to a wide variety of activities to occupy her (when she wasn't reading voraciously). I became her enabler, and took her to the symphony, ballet, opera, and stage musicals, bought her a guitar, flute and piano, and took lessons with her. We also did ordinary activities like bike riding, playing catch in the yard and going to the park to play Frisbee and hit baseballs. I allowed for her to be an artist, musician, girl scout, cheerleader, singer, actress, and a print and runway model.

By a quirk of the genetic lottery she was also very beautiful, and from age 10 likewise matured physically beyond her chronologic age. By then she complained that too many people just stared at her and couldn't mind their own business. A photograph of her was submitted to image analysis software which estimated her age as 23, when she was 12. Consequently, raising her was sometimes a surreal experience, as people often mistook her as older than she was. Sometimes that was simply amusing, and sometimes a bit concerning. I then transitioned from chauffeur to chief of security.

Thankfully she did not want to be a performer as a career. She started attending classes at a university at 11, had college presidents personally offer full-ride scholarships, and will soon be a doctor. I have been blessed to be a part of her existence, and did whatever I could to encourage her along the way.

You will always think time goes too fast. That being said we were too busy doing all the activities to really enjoy any of them. It was always a race to the next event. I actually enjoy my kids as adults now more than I did when they were at home.

When a friend with older kids pointed out we really only get 18 summers with each child, we started making Blurb books at the end of summer, compiling pictures from what we did that summer. Whether just us, them at camps, activities with friends, family, travel. Mother's Day to Labor Day. Print one for each child. When they start writing, ask them to contribute, right about an experience and add it in.

The summer books are two fold in that it keeps you cognizant to make the most out of each summer (don't over do the cameras!) and the memories are your family's, not social media's. frick the likes, keep it in the family. Have fun and be creative, we do a page at the end with all the silly selfies they'd take and one with pics of whatever we catch the dog doing.

Parents are lazy and out of shape, be in shape. Teach your kids how to be active, don't ever say no to a walk or run or bike ride. If you can't physically keep up, get your arse exercising regularly.

It's so "cool" (especially for moms) to bitch about having to chauffeur your offspring around to activities you signed them up for, but older friends say one thing that gets missed in a few short years is the rushing around from activity to activity. That's the good stuff not the bad stuff. Imagine being a kid again, think what would you want to do for fun and adventure, and do it with them.

I know Boomer parents that treated their kids like obstacles, in the way of hunting, fishing, partying, or work BS. Family is the biggest ROI in life, it's the fullest experience.