Hi, summer! We are moms. Our kids have all made their bucket lists and so now we begin the rapid speed quest of trying to accomplish 57 things in eight weeks. That’s only seven things a week, so we only have to do something special every single day until school starts back. We’ve got this! But for real, moms, the summer bucket lists can be fun and expensive and stressful, and for us slightly competitive moms (ahem), we may actually run ourselves into the ground trying to make sure every item gets crossed off.
But that’s the fun of summer, right?
At the same time, moms need to have a fun summer too! My childhood summers were simple and satisfying. Wiffle ball games in the backyard, pitchers of lime green Kool-Aid, bike races with my dad, and lightning bug catching competitions at night. Take me back!
Times have changed and summers don’t always feel that simple anymore, but here are a few ways that I have found to make my summer as simple and satisfying as it was when I was a child:
1. Cook and/or bake one new item (or an old childhood favorite) each week.
One of my favorite summer activities is going to my public library, checking out one or two cookbooks, picking a few items that sound delicious, and trying my hand at them! It may be something as simple as a yummy salad that I’ve never made or a childhood favorite that I haven’t had in many years. It doesn’t have to be fancy and it doesn’t have to be difficult, but smelling familiar smells and tasting familiar tastes can bring back a whole bunch of warm memories to share with your own family around the dinner table.
2. Inner tube + pool + beverage = happiness.
Ok, y’all are going to think I’m crazy, but this can feel like a mini (very mini) vacation if you let it. Find two hours, or one hour, or thirty minutes, and get yourself to the public pool, the neighborhood pool, a friend’s pool, or the plastic pool in your yard. Sit your sunscreened self in a $2.97 inner tube from Walmart, pop open your favorite beverage (Dr. Pepper for me), and just float and sip and float and sip. You can listen to music or not. You can listen to other people’s kids scream and bask in the bliss that today those are not your kids. They might be tomorrow, but they are not today. Close your eyes and float away until you are rudely interrupted by said kid doing a cannonball.
3. Update one room in your house.
Notice I said “update.” This can be as simple as rearranging the furniture, changing out a bedspread or blanket, buying a new picture, or adding a vase of fresh flowers and a new candle. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Our minds love “fresh starts” and simple changes in a room can trick your mind into feeling like it’s a brand-new space. Maybe move a chair into that empty corner of your bedroom, throw a blanket on it, and call it your new reading nook! The possibilities are endless.
4. Sleep in.
I’m serious. Do it. Try it. No alarms. Kids are being watched by dad, grandparents, almost old enough older siblings…doesn’t matter. Enjoy a slow morning. Even if you can’t sleep in, just lie in your bed. Slow mornings are rejuvenating and in the summer they are delicious. Pajamas till 11:00? Who cares? Three cups of coffee? Great. That school bus will be roaring up your neighborhood hill at 6:30am before you know it, so take this season to enjoy the slow and quiet mornings.
5. Make a playlist of feel-good music.
I can’t stress this one enough. When you are sad, lonely, happy, nervous, etc., nothing can change your mood like your favorite songs. For me, “oldies” are my feel good mood music. One song by The Monkees and I am immediately transported back to my mom’s green Chrysler Cordoba with no air conditioning and we are on our way to the farmers’ market with the windows down in the July North Carolina heat. And you know what? I’ve never been happier. Try to think of songs that take you back to happy places and happy memories. Put them all on a list together and blast it! Dance to it to make your teenagers love you even more! 🙂
6. Buy a French press coffee maker.
Moms who love coffee, this is a MUST! They are not that expensive on Amazon. My husband and I have a weekend ritual. It starts with grinding fresh coffee beans from Fresh Market ($7-8 max for us), and using our French press coffee maker on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Why? Because that is what they use at our favorite vacation resort, therefore, when we do it in our messy kitchen while our kids are fighting, we STILL somehow manage to feel like we are on vacation! It is a luxury for us. Our kids know that when the French press comes out, all bets are off until mom and dad finish their coffee and conversation. It is one of the things I look forward to the most after a long week of work.
7. Last but not least…MOST IMPORTANTLY…delete the Instagram Influencers for the summer!
Ladies, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fill of seeing mega mansion house plans, unrealistic vacations, extravagant wardrobes, and false advertising for stuff that tastes like absolute junk (hello, AG1 that I was influenced to purchase). I deleted ALL influencers on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, and I have felt more at peace with my life since doing so. I still get to see all the people I know and love on social media and I get to see what they are doing with their sweet families during the summer, and you know what? It looks a lot like my summer! And I don’t feel like I’m failing or not doing enough or not making enough money or not providing enough adventure for my kids. Material influencers have truly stained our society and the only thing they’ve really influenced us with is the feeling of never being satisfied. Delete them with me and let’s begin to live a truly satisfying summer.
Ok, those are my suggestions for a simple yet satisfying summer for moms. Pick none, one, or do them all. I have about 15 more things I could add, but no one has time to read all of that. We have bucket list items to plan for and execute for the snack monsters in our home 24/7! Just remember, when the kids are all tucked in their beds, exhausted from another fun day of just doing summer with you, pick an item to try.
You are my favorite writer!! Great read & so so true! I look forward to your writings❤️