When I first started writing Summer 20XX, I just thought my boys and I were having a great time doing different activities every afternoon when they got out of their camp programs. Some days were admittedly not-so-great with normal sibling bickering and more than our share of disappointments and rainy days.
I posted pictures every day and really appreciated the response, not only online, but amazingly enough when I would run into friends in person also.
“I have loved seeing the pictures of what you all are doing!” they would congratulate.
I also got a frequent concerned inquiry, “Did you quit your job?”
To both, I would laugh and try to explain: there is so much more going on than the pictures could possibly convey.
I received a lot of support to turn our stories into something more, but even I didn’t know where our journey was leading us until the day we reached our culminating moment and biggest lesson learned. At that instant, I knew it was a message that needed to be shared with the world, bigger than just my family and our journey.
“You can always choose to laugh. You can choose to smile instead of cry. When we make a mistake or face something we don’t like or things just aren’t going well, I want you to remember what just happened. Smiling is always a choice and that is what I want for you. Choose to smile and to laugh.” – Summer 20XX