Open the Window and Let Them Peek In

Happy May everyone!

Although almost everybody I know has puffy eyes right now and head congestion, this is still my absolute favorite time of year. I love the warm weather, the flowers, and the constant breeze. It makes my heart warm and I start to come alive again!

As we all get outside more this season and start looking toward a time when our kids won’t be in school for a while, I wanted to present you with a summer activity idea!

But put a pin in that. We’ll circle back to it!

When you were little, did you know what you wanted to be? Did you have a college that you knew you wanted to go to? Maybe you had a business that you wished you could own someday. Possibly it was just that you had a dream car in mind or a place you wanted to live in when you were a grown-up.

Did you ever get to “walk around” in that dream as a kid?

Did you ever get to go tour that dream college or visit that dream job? Maybe meet a business owner who was doing what you wanted to do? Or even go sit in that dream car once? 

Most of us don’t really get to take a look inside our dream when we’re kids, unfortunately.

In my opinion, if we did, maybe it would help us keep that dream alive.

If you’re an adult, you know that a lot of times, life doesn’t turn out like we thought it would when we were kids. That pesky thing known as reality sets in and you start to realize that the way you pictured your life when you were young isn’t going to just fall into place like you thought it would. 

But what if we had something to go on? What if we had gotten a little taste of that dream? What if we had gotten a chance to experience that job or that place or that thing a couple of times?

This was my thought when I took my oldest son Abel to do a college tour in Atlanta. Now keep in mind, he’s 10! However, he’s got a big dream. He wants to go to Georgia Tech. Now, this will be a feat for him because while he’s a good student, he doesn’t test on a genius level - at least not yet!! He’s a good athlete but he’s no prodigy and the real kicker is that no one in my or my husband’s family has gone to school at the university level. College yes, university, no.  

When Abel told me where he wanted to go to that school, I knew I had to get him there. I knew he would love the campus and atmosphere and I knew it would give him something real and tangible to work toward. 

Well, we were blessed with the opportunity to actually go take that tour last week.

He loved it! It was such a cool experience because we got to tour with two students. They told us a little bit of information about the dorms and about the campus that only they would know. They took us into the classrooms and the buildings that Abel would be in if he were to attend. We got to go see the baseball stadium and experience first hand the enormous construction project going on at the football stadium. We hung out in the student center, went to the library and even had the special campus coffee! We walked to Tech Square where we got to shop and have lunch. Needless to say, it was a great day! When we left, I asked him, “Could you see yourself here?”

He said, “Yes, Ma’am!”

I knew it was worth it right then.

Keep in mind this wasn’t something we did on a whim. We had to plan it and schedule it with the students. Abel had to miss a day of school (which was a testing day - whoops!). I had to miss a day of work. I had to pay for parking, we walked probably 5 miles that day and of course, we had to endure the Atlanta traffic. But it was so worth it!

Now I know that when he is challenged, when he is struggling and wants to quit, I can remind him of that day and maybe it will motivate him to keep trying!

So finally, here is my summer activity idea - I challenge you, ask your kids their dreams. If at all possible, make a window for them into that dream. Maybe meet someone in the same career field, go visit a college or a corporate campus, meet a business owner who will give you a tour, go look at a dream car, or take a weekend trip to their dream city. If you do that, you are creating that window into their dream and opening it up for them. Let them peek inside. It might just make all the difference.

Happy Spring my friends!

Speaking of Summer Activities, if you’re local to Habersham, you need to check out this Summer Camp that is being hosted by my friend Jason Fowler.