School is finally out and the summer sun beckons. This is usually the time of year when the nerd in me likes to sit down with a copy of the South Florida Parenting Magazine, my library’s summer program schedule and other city and regional calendars I’ve collected. Then, over a cup of coffee, I intently review these, jotting down in my planner all the fun and exciting things we’re going to do over the next few months. (Please tell me I’m not the only who does this!) Somehow, life usually ends up happening, and next thing you know, it’s September, summer has come and gone in a blink of an eye, and I’m scrambling to get ready for the beginning of school, wondering what happened to all my grand plans.

That is why I’m excited to team up with a lovely group of moms to challenge each other to ENJOY the HERE and NOW. To not get caught up with the To Do’s and responsibilities, but to make the most of our summer. During the 10-week ETHAN Project, we’ll have a different challenge to complete each week with the goal of reminding ourselves to focus on the things that truly matter. If you also want to be intentional with your summer, please join us! All you have to do is follow the weekly schedule on the left, and for each challenge, post on the ETHAN Project Facebook Group what you did. You can also share pictures and posts with the #ETHANproject hashtag on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. The idea is to encourage and give each other ideas on how to slow down, and once a week, do something to make it a memorable summer for you and the kids.

You can click here to download an overview of the challenge.

Week 1 Challenge: Enjoy Friendship Once you have kids, making and keeping friends becomes difficult. It’s not that most moms don’t want to have friends, it’s just that there never seems to be enough time. Even when you plan a play date, you end up spending a considerable amount of time chasing after little ones who want to explore all the dangerous things around them. Or, just when you think you have a few minutes to call a friend, your kids decide this is the best time to get into an argument the way only siblings can (“I didn’t!” “Yes, you did.” “No, I didn’t!” “Yes, you did.” “NO I DIDN’T!!!!!!!”) And still, friends help us stay grounded and put together when we feel like we just might crumble under the pressures of motherhood. We need friends, and that’s why I’m glad that the #ETHANproject kicks off with this challenge.

It couldn’t have come at a better time because I’ve been planning the details of my upcoming Birthday Weekend Getaway Extravaganza with two of my best friends since my college years. With the exception of a women’s retreat at church, I’ve never had a girls weekend AC (after children), so I’m beyond excited. Plus, after my first year of homeschooling and being with my kids all day, every day, I can use some time to recharge – vegetate by a beach somewhere, have some fancy uninterrupted meals and stay up all night talking, not because of a feverish kid. And, what better time to celebrate than my birthday? We’ve been talking this week about what we’ll do, and I’m quickly learning that we can’t cram all the things we ever wanted to do together into one weekend. (Maybe we shouldn’t bring our sewing machines so she can finally teach me to sew cute little dresses for my daughter.) We have one more week to go before our little adventure, and whatever we end up doing, I know we’ll have a blast.

I hope you join us in the #ETHANproject 10-week challenge, and let me know how you choose to Enjoy Friendship this week. Leave a comment below or join us in the ETHAN Project Facebook Group.  You can also visit the Grounded and Surrounded blog each Friday for a recap of the favorite stories from the week and a blogger link-up.

Are you interested in becoming an #ETHANproject Blogger? Click here for more information.