My Summer Bucket List & This Week's Intention

We officially have one week of Summer under our belts.

Where I come from, it's summer the second Memorial Day weekend starts, but last Sunday made it officially official.

It is Summer!

Immediately a thousand things and goals and fun activities started swirling around in my head. And then the dejection set in.

There is never enough time to do it all.

All my best laid plans...and only 11 weekends to cram it all in before Labor Day. It seems like a lot, but every year it flies by and I feel like I've blinked and then it's the first weekend in September, time to go back to school, and our social schedule starts humming with all the activities that come with a new school year.

So, for my Summer Bucket List, I quieted the voice in my mind that was screaming "DO ALL THE THINGS!" and wrote down two two-word statements:

Be present.

I feel like I woke up and the sweet little girl I cradled in my arms not too long ago is a whopping four years old and where did the time go? It sounds so cliche--you know you can blink and boom the time is gone--but really?!

The fact of the matter is, I am becoming increasingly aware that a minute goes by and I'm not getting that minute back once it's gone. That, friends, bums me out.

All those times I tried to cram in so much stuff into our summers, and do I really remember all of it? Really, no.

So, I am making it a point to continually be present in the moments we get to share. The sights, the sounds, the smells. Take that given minute, hold onto it, and stamp it in my memory.

Slow down.

I only get my weekends for fun. 48 hours. 16 of them are spent sleeping (if we're lucky).

What's a girl to do? Run herself ragged trying to fill those short hours with activities, experiences, whatever I could think of...that's what. Of course.

And then I'd find myself exhausted with my head spinning on Sunday night, wholly unprepared for my upcoming week back at the office. Talk about starting off your week on the wrong foot.

This summer, I am promising myself that it's OKAY if we don't manage to fit in every single quintessential summer experience. I need to gently remind myself that the summer will not crumble before my very eyes if we don't manage to get to the beach, play in the pool at home, visit the park, go to the boardwalk, have a BBQ, and play play play all weekend. That kind of schedule would make anyone crazy, and doesn't make for a balanced, well-rested mom who is ready to bring on the new week by Sunday night.

Be present.
Slow down.

I'm sure we'll have our share of fun this summer, but I want it to come without a sense of urgency and disconnect. I want to wake up on Labor Day, look back, and remember the smiles, the giggles, and the joy.

My intention this week (and for the rest of the summer) is to slow down, be present, and savor.
I am beyond blessed to have been given these minutes.
Might as well truly embrace them.