Making wonderful summer memories that last a lifetime

Do you remember summers as a child? I do. For some reason I remember them as going on forever; long fun packed days playing in the sun (or sometimes huddled in a tent or caravan watching monsoon weather sweeping across wherever we were visiting!) This year’s summer has been different in many ways, but perhaps there are some things that stay the same.

During the holiday season, it is so important that we focus our time, our energy, and all that we are trying to do on spending time with our children and having a really great time together. This is so important for all children, including children and young people with additional needs or disabilities.

Wherever you are, whether in the UK like me and my family, or somewhere else in the world (this blog has been read in 185 countries!), during the holiday season the time that we invest in our children and young people, especially those who have additional needs or disabilities, is time that is so precious; building those memories, creating those wonderful moments that our children will look back on in the future. Times when they will be able to recognise that we were there for them that we wanted to spend time with them.

And whatever that looks like for you, whether it’s taking them on a trip to the shops, whether it’s taking them to a leisure park, whether it’s taking them somewhere where they can go on roller coaster rides and have an amazing time, whether it’s coming to somewhere like the beach (I live in a beach town and grew up in the sea!), or even if it’s just spending some quality time on the sofa watching a film and eating some popcorn together, these times matter. It might involve some food, sometimes just getting together and going to get something to eat, or getting some take-away, or making something to eat together at home, can be great memory-making moments as well.

Whatever that looks like for you, let’s make sure that during this holiday period we’re making the very most of every one of those opportunities, because you know what it’s like, our children are only children for so many years and nobody ever looked back at their life and wished that they had spent more time working, or out with their mates.  What people look back on and regret is that they didn’t spend enough quality time with their kids, doing amazing memory-making things that will last with their children throughout their lives.

Let’s scrapbook those moments, let’s take photos and video, let’s gather it all together so that when it’s dark and wet and gloomy, when summer has long gone, we can look back and share those moments together again and be so thankful for them; so thankful for the times we spent together and celebrating the joy of being family together again.

Let’s make those memories ‘stick’ forever and count forever and be memories that our kids can look back on forever. And maybe, in the future, when they are looking back and thinking about their life, maybe when times are hard, they can remember the good times that they have had, how they were loved, and that can encourage, inspire, and help them.

Mark Arnold, Director of Additional Needs Ministry at Urban Saints. Arnold blogs at The Additional Needs Blogfather. This article was re-published with permission.