how we summer

it's no secret that i love summer. i love sunshine and swimming and shave ice. i also love the feel of summer...the freedom from school and responsibilities. obviously most adults don't get to enjoy the same level of freedom as the kids, but i still do my best to make summer feel like summer, even as a grown up. we typically take a bit of a break from house projects and try to spend our time enjoying summery things.

after a few too many summers that felt like they were over before i really got to enjoy them, i started making 'the summer list'. it's a fun way to make sure we don't miss out on our favorite activities and really, who doesn't love checking things off a list! the only downside is that most of the items require some level of planning or scheduling, so it wasn't really helping with that carefree summer feeling. so this year i added a mantra...enjoy every day.

it isn't much different than the simple discipline of noticing. i wanted to fully enjoy the moments that felt most like summer, and maybe add a little something extra to make them more fun. so instead of eating that shave ice or qt cone in the car, we found a patch of grass to lounge in. i took the back roads home at night with the windows down and the radio up [i also randomly started playing real mccoy songs, which immediately transported me to the summers of the late 90's and those early morning pom practices]. there were day movies and night movies. walks to the thrift store. honey smacks for breakfast. mugs up root beer floats, just because. sandwiches with lettuce. sitting outside after dark. reading by the pool. and an adventure to find the raytown dragon...and i thoroughly enjoyed it all.