Summer can be a special time to be a parent, with the school holidays offering a chance of more quality time together as a family and the warmer weather widening the possibilities of things to do.
As this year’s summer holidays draw to a close, three families, each with different experiences of adoption, tell us what they love most about the summer.
Rebecca has adopted two young children and for her, as a single adopter, who relies on an organised routine to help balance work and family life, it is the freedom that the summer brings that she most values.
She says: “The nice thing about summer is that you’re kind of free.
“You can just throw on a pair of sandals and go out and get an ice cream.
“There are also loads of free things that you can do outdoors, such as going to the park or to the beach, that wouldn’t be quite as nice in the winter.
“We went away for a few days, and it felt so relaxed and easy to be able to do whatever we wanted to each day.”
Anna and Matt adopted a little girl at the end of last year after a sometimes challenging two-year journey and are gradually relaxing into their new life as a blended family, with Matt’s teenage daughter.
For them, the school holidays presented the perfect opportunity to spend more time together getting involved in different activities as a family.
Anna says: “One thing we’ve loved doing this summer is going swimming.
“It was lovely to see our little girl gradually becoming more confident in the water with her older sister and to see them getting closer.
“The summer has also given us the chance to visit our wider families too, which our little girl loves as she’s very sociable, and it’s so lovely to see everyone smiling and happy together.”
Caroline and Scott adopted four siblings, ranging in age from pre-school to high school.
The summer holidays offer a rare chance for all of the children to play together and enjoy new experiences.
Caroline says: “Summer holidays mean that no-one is in school so all of the children can be together.
“We’ve enjoyed going abroad to stay with family for a few weeks this year, and it’s been so good to have nice weather and for the children to be able to go in the pool together every day.
“Two of them had never been on a plane before this summer, so we spent time watching lots of YouTube videos to help them prepare!”
As summer rolls into autumn taking a moment to think about our own happy summer memories can help us reflect on some of the positive elements of life and look forward to the seasons ahead.
Thank you to all of the families who discussed their summer memories with us. We’ll be sharing more about their experiences of adoption in future articles.
If you’re thinking about adoption and want to know more, contact our team by completing our online enquiry form or call 01942 487272.
You can also find out about the adoption process at our monthly Virtual information sessions.
Posted on Friday 2nd September 2022