My mother once told me that at the beginning of each summer, she would make a list of everything she wanted to do while we were off school: pool time, museum excursions, ice cream, vacations. Sometimes the list was completed, sometimes it wasn’t. But more than fulfilling her to-dos, the list served as a guide for enjoying the brief months of summer when the long days are hot and unplanned. The list was her way of keeping us busy, enjoying each other, and trying new things.
I didn’t make a list this year. Maybe I should have. Maybe it would’ve made the summer less crazy and more approachable. Next year, right? But looking back over my summer months, here’s what I have learned. There are some staple things that we do, that I even did as a kid, that have really made summer feel like, well, summer. These fall-back-ons have defined our care-free days and made our summer months sweet. This will forever be the summer than Julia learned to ride her tricycle. And summers and summers from now when we are well past training wheels, I hope we’re still riding bikes through our summers and finding treasures in hickory nuts and acorns on the sidewalk.
It just isn’t summer without the beach or pool. And it isn’t summer without digging, sprinklers, barebque, fireworks, lemonade, Popsicles, trips to the library, swinging, or picnics. It just isn’t summer without road trips or staying up late, daily baths, long naps, counting thunder claps, watermelon, sunsets, or peach ice cream.
So what Have Tos do you have this summer?
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