We survived! My husband and I spent the week away at 6th-grade camp with our kids and about 100 of their classmates, and we lived to tell about it.

Here are the biggest lessons I learned…

Sleep is the MOST IMPORTANT.  You never realize this more until you’re at the end of a VERY long day and are trying to quiet a dorm full of tween girls. As the week went on, my bedtime quickly synced up with the 9 p.m. lights-out rule, which I became increasingly grateful for. Each night I rested, I was able to be more patient, understanding, and downright fun to be around. 

And whether you’re gearing up for another day with a zillion 6th graders, or working up the stamina to have emotional conversations in love, you need to be well rested. There’s a direct correlation between our sleep and our levels of patience and understanding, so don’t skip on rest when you’re up against a big physical or emotional task.

Be CURIOUS. I got to meet and get to know so many of my kid’s classmates in a way that I never expected. And the coolest part was being curious about who they were as people. I learned more from these 11 and 12-year-olds than I have in a while. They reminded me of just how important it is to be curious of one another.

Take it SLOW! For most of the kids at camp, this was the longest they’d been away from their families. Which was a big stretch and an exciting adventure all at once. And yet the schedule at camp was pretty demanding in terms of hiking 5-7 miles a day, making their own lunches out on the trail, and really stepping outside of their comfort zones.  

Which made finding a moment to slow down even more important. 

Coming in with tons of energy wasn’t always the best approach. Sometimes the kids needed a quiet hello or a smile so that they could sigh and reset to the next challenge at hand. 

Which is true in love too. When we’re pushed to our max, we need to take it slow so we don’t throw our hands up in frustration. Quiet support and calming reassurance is sometimes all we need from each other.

I’m grateful for this experience and now I’m off to sleep for a week straight!!

Until next week,

-A

P.S. What about you? Any lessons learned from big life experiences lately? Reply to this email and share. I always love to hear the parallels between life and love… because we know they actually intersect.