Every year I create a list of small ways to celebrate the summer season, a practice of mine that dates back to my Chicago days. When I began blogging, I started posting my lists and trying to come up with a fresh series of ideas each year. However, after only coming up with three new ideas for this year’s list, I passed the baton on to the formerly small people and asked for their take on things. My younger son, mesmerized by his own brilliance during his youth, immediately began spouting all his ideas from former lists, like ice cream for breakfast and staying up all night. My older son said nothing because he was in the middle of playing Star Wars: Battlefront II and was thus beyond all human reach. Baby-Girl, however, delivered a fascinating list, so I’ll share my three ideas and then move on to hers, all for your reading pleasure.
My List
- Drink your drinks of choice this summer all with brightly colored straws. It just makes the ordinary a little more fun.
- Break your routine (if you have one) and walk a path you’ve never walked before (literally, not figuratively, although personally I’m fine if you want to do it figuratively as well). Find a trail, a pathway, or a neighborhood you’ve never explored and check it out.
- Get a tattoo. I’ve been on the fence about getting one for some time now (commitment issues), but summer seems like a great time to take the plunge. If nothing else, summer clothes make it easier to show off that which is new about you.
Baby-Girl’s List (The words in quotation marks are her words.)
- “Have a Mom’s Camp. Let the mom in the family pick what everyone does for the day. Like go to the beach with Mom, get Mom’s nails done while everyone watches, and eat lots of chocolate.†Note: She emphasized that this one, unlike other camps, is “just for a day.â€
- “Oh, and then you can have another one for the dad and another one (she became quite animated here) for each of the kids in the family!!!â€
- “Have a Reading Fest. You get up in the morning and go to the bookstore. And everyone buys books. Then, go to the library and check out more books. Then, go home and spend the day reading.†We discussed planning a food stash ahead of time so meals and snacks are ready to go. Baby-Girl also mentioned to “make sure that you stay hydrated.†We’ve all, of course, heard the many harrowing accounts of people who suddenly dehydrated while reading.
- “Make a family store. Everyone can sell the stuff they don’t want anymore to each other.†Create a mental picture of that one for a moment.
- “Try a new hairstyle. Why don’t you wear braids to work, Mom?â€
- “Dip your feet in water for an hour, and while you do it, do something fun like read a book. And also, dip your hair in a little bucket of water.â€
Well, that’s it y’all. I hope your summer is filled with love, laughter, lounging, and lots of dipping your hair in little buckets of water.
This is a little crazy, but I have items 2 and 3 on my list for this summer too! I wrote an entire blog post about discovering neighborhoods around me, and just this morning chose the one I want to start with. I also have a baby girl heading off to college this fall, who has been begging for a tattoo for the past two years. We are concerned that she will go someplace unsafe on her own, so we have offered to take her for her birthday before she moves away. I’m planning to get my one small tattoo touched up with her. Crazy coincidence! Unfortunately, I don’t have plans to dip my hair in water, but I’m sure I could work that in.