Friday, April 4, 2014

Just 18 Summers


My oldest son just turned 13 this week!  Yes, I'm now the mom of a teenage boy...yikes.  My twins turn 9 this month.  Then school gets out next month, and we will have 8 weeks of summer (due to the balanced schedule we follow).  Then we'll start a new year, and it will go just as fast (or faster) as this year.  The book Just 18 Summers is a great reminder that times goes quickly for all of us.  Our lives are constantly changing, our kids are constantly growing, and we have to embrace every moment we get with our family.

This book follow 4 families in different seasons of life: a widowed father with a school-aged girl, a young couple about to have their first child, a middle aged couple with kids, and another couple whose kids are flying the coop.  The families interact with each other in various parts of the storyline.  One thing this book really made me think about was how many summers I have left with my boys.  Which when I start thinking about this, I get a little bit sappy!  

"As with everything in life, there are no guarantees.  You do what you can while you have them.  In the blink of an eye, time has passed and you missed half the things you intended to do."  *my favorite quote from the book*

For more information, I would highly recommend going to the  Just 18 Summers  website.  One of their missions is to help make the daily journey easier for parents.  And their website is full of ideas and stories designed specifically for parents.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my review.  All opinions are mine.*