Press onward…. forward…. to the finish line!
By Amanda on Aug 7, 2009 in Featured
One more summer event, ladies! I see the finish line ahead. It feels like I have been running a marathon this summer, holding one more kids than last year, its been a long haul. Back to back camps and events that I have not been able to take part in, and a “family” vacation/visit I had to do (mostly) alone this year, it has not been easy. (My biggest excuse for not blogging so much, sorry!)
I seem to always naively look forward to the summer months in May. I think of warm lazy days, sitting by the pool or beach, a simple family picnic with everyone in matching clean clothes quietly eating and singing praises of how clever mom is for organizing such peaceful and meaningful time together.
NOT.
It NEVER seems to pan out that way!
So now that I am approaching the finish line of summer I am looking forward… forward to school starting, forward to crazy weeks that Jeff will be home, forward to Monday spaghetti dinners with the masses, forward to predictable week days, and forward to weekends that are busy but the same. I LOVE a good schedule. I love knowing what the day will bring. I love to plan, and keep the plan!
I know we all have horror stories and amazing stories of how we survived our summers . I don’t want to ignore that fact that as women we need some time to process through that…
But I want to know what you are looking FORWARD to. What’s coming up for you? What do you love most about summer being over, and the new school year ahead?
I feel you so much about crazy summer coming to an end. This summer I think was our first summer to need to first aid kit as you put it earlier. It has been crazy but good. I sit here in my husbands office thinking about what I will look forward to as I am also hearing him commit to another night out. Wow!! I am trying to stick to my promise I made to him that I would rather do youth every day then fight about it everyother day. That was our big thing this summer. We fought about things like never before. That said i guess I look forward to a more stable plan as you said. Maybe also since the kids will be is school we can have a few sleep late days or conversatios without so many phone calls. From you stand point I look forward to growth as the school year starts and the kids get back in the groove of things. You know how summer is everyone takes vactions and stuff so the kids can’t be here regularly. I guess that’s it. Sorry for negative stuff.
Mary | Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
I’m going to start attending a different church on Wednesday nights this fall. We’ve been here three years and I’m still trying to make friends. I’m not saying I’m giving up on our own church; I’m just trying to be realistic about it. I’ve learned in the past year that some churches are a community of faith for their ministers, and some are just a place to work. I’m looking forward to being a regular ol’ person at my “church on the side” and finally getting to know some people around here!
Kari | Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
I am with you!!! I am looking forward to my husband beeing home and not sleeping alone in my bed so many nights. I am looking forward to teaching my piano students again. To a predictable routine at home and in the youth group. God has done some great things in our students and also in us this summer but it’s been the hardest summer yet- I am so happy it is almost over.
Angelina | Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
im so excited for all of the traveling to be over! and also me and my fiance are getting maried in less than three months, so the craziness of weddings will be over! … on the other hand lots of big changes coming for the youth at our church hopefully they will be accepted and inspire some much needed change and growth , this will mean several late nights for the youth staff , even if we are newly weds… from what i can tell august september will be more mild than other months to come so that should provide some much needed rest and reconnection time!
Ps i just love reading everyones post …so good to be in this with other people.
Katelyn | Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
I am looking sooooo forward to the school year starting….Normalcy and slowing down a bit.
Like you, I had grand plans of taking the kids swimming, to the park, library trips, short family weekend trips and it seems like time just got away from us. Between my husband’s job, being the Youth Directors, beginning his Assoc Pastor Internship with our church, Afterglow youth group trips, youth group on Sun. nights and Wed nights for the summer, our first mission trip this summer, it seems we never slowed down long enough to even breath.
From what I have been told this is the life of not only a Youth Director but that of a Youth Pastors Wife. . . . I am loving every second of it but I am so ready for it to slow down.
The Lord has blessed us immensely the last few years since coming to our church and he continues his blessings on us. I am so glad to have found this site. I have read through past blogs and posts!
Jody | Aug 8, 2009 | Reply
This summer for me has been good. Now that my kids are older they can make there own cereal and I get to sleep in sometimes. I do like the routine of fall & school but I don’t like getting up soooo early every morning
I have 4 kids in 4 different schools so fall is really much busier for me than summer. On the upside they are finally all in school all day so I do get some down time.
God Bless you all…love reading everyone’s thoughts.
Jennifer | Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
It is so good to hear other YP wives talk about their crazy summers and how they look forward to the school year starting. This has BY FAR been the hardest summer in ministry for me. We just got home last night from the last event of the summer! It feels good! Like many of you expressed, good things happened in the hearts and lives of our students this summer but I’ll be honest, I am sooo looking forward to being a family again, and not have to say bye to my husband for several more months! I have learned about about who I am this summer, but am so looking forward to the stability of the school year. It’s funny how the students all dread the first day of school…and for me…it’s one of the best days of the year
Joye | Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Well I guess I take a totally different approach to this, because I am dreading the school year starting and the summer ending. My husband is a full time YP and I am a full time teacher and we have two boys ages 8 and 5. The summer’s are much calmer for me and I feel that I see and get to spend more time with my husband then (even if it is on a youth event of some sort). Our parents are wonderful blessings and I don’t know what we would do without them. My parents voluntarily keep the kids two weeks out of the summer so that I am able to go along to camps and be the female sponsor. We have youth kids on three different school calendars and that makes summer planning very difficult. Some of our kids started back to school on July 13 and were unable to attend our last week of camp because of school (needless to say we had some very disappointed kiddos). During the summer I get to spend my husband’s day off with him, during the school year I do not. So, I may be the oddball, but I am not looking forward to the school year starting.
Andrea | Aug 11, 2009 | Reply
I’m not sure where I should post this. But I need some help. My husband has been a part time youth director of our church for 5 years. In the past couple of years we have gotten a new preacher. He doesn’t give my husband the freedom of running the youth as the previous preacher did. Now all of a sudden his list of responsibilities have come up missing, which the previous preacher said was in his file. He loves the kids and wants to stay at the church but feels the battle is too great to fight. We feel the preacher may be wanting to get rid of him to fill the position with someone else, a friend of his or another church member. He feels like just another church member despite the pay check he gets from the church and teaching the youth twice a week. My husband does a wonderful job. Several members of the church have told him if he leaves they will allow their children to go somewhere else to church. We hate to see this happen but are so tired of the battle. If you have suggestions please let me know.
Kristina | Aug 16, 2009 | Reply