Summer Bucket List and Daily Goals

Today felt like the first day of summer vacation; Thursday the pool opened and we went and that felt like summer too, but today was the first day post Father's Day, which means we have no birthdays or family holidays for months!

Suddenly, despite having registered Papa and the boys for their summer races this morning, I feel free. We can visit with family when it works for all of us and not feel guilty when a race on Mother's Day (meaning we were gone all weekend) requires apology flowers and rescheduling to a day that no matter how we try really isn't Mother's Day. There will be no birthday parties to squeeze into weekends that are already full with long practices, races, or race travel. The obligations are pretty low all summer, which provides a much needed break.

So we went to the park this morning and the pool this afternoon and got started on the months of slow.

For a few years now I have created a summer bucket list, or manifesto, if you like. This year it looks like this:

Outside Everyday

Pool As Much As Possible

Picnic - Any Time of Day

Friday Bowl Days

Make and Eat Lots of Popsicles

Create Daily

Hang Out With Friends

Morning Walks

Sew Every Week

Hang the Laundry

Have Music Nights

Give Up Facebook

Go Device Free Most of the Time

Go to the Beach

Camp

Relax

Breathe

Be!

Some of the items on the list are part of what I want for everyday this summer. My daily goals are to:

Spend time outside everyday - preferably where I can be on grass or under trees, but in a hot day pinch a few hours on the porch or by the pool will count.

Move my body daily - walk, swim, bike, or stretch.

Make something (create) everyday - knit, crochet, embroider, sew, draw, paint ... or even cook something new.

Listen to music daily - I love music but I also love silence, and silence often wins.  But some of my best summer memories involve music, so we are going to listen at home if we don't happen to be in the car.

Today I spent time outside four times; I went to the park and spent two hours under the oak trees with my bare feet on the ground, I was at the pool for two hours, I ate a meal on the porch, and I went for a 1.5 mile walk in the evening. The walking was also moving my body. I finished a dish cloth and started knitting another one in a more complicated pattern. We cranked up the music in the car while going to and from the pool.