“Here comes summer,
Here comes summer,
Chirping robin, budding rose
Here comes summer,
Here comes summer,
Gentle showers, summer clothes.
Here comes summer,
Here comes summer—
Whoosh—shiver—there it goes.”
– Shel Silverstein’s Here Comes from A Light in the Attic
In our neck of the woods, we’ve got six weeks left before the school bell rings. While part of me thinks this is a ton of togetherness-time, the other part believes we barely scratched the surface of our summer bucket list. Not a mom, but still want to maximize your summer? Check out this article.
So how can we make the most of the waning weeks of summer? Here are four simple strategies:
1. Reshape your expectations.
I expect summer to be a time of relaxation and happy kids, ice cream and the pool, and get-togethers and BBQ. Except, in my right-now life, this doesn’t actually happen, so I conclude my summer is a total fail.
A successful summer shouldn’t be contingent upon ice cream and grilled meat, the happiness of my people, or the number of exotic vacations.
A successful summer isn’t based on what we do, it’s about our attitude toward our people and the culture we’re creating in our homes.
This summer are your people flourishing? Are you flourishing? Are you participating in activities, like swim team or Sunday naps, that bring your heart joy? Are you enjoying the family, the resources, and the time that God has so graciously lavished upon you? If your answers to these questions are mostly “yes,” then your summer is a success!
Let’s teach our brains that a successful summer isn’t about meeting expectations, it’s about making your people feel loved and cherished, however that looks.
2. View summer as a Sabbath.
According to Peter Scazzero in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Sabbath is all about stopping, resting, delighting and contemplating.
And isn’t that exactly what summer has the chance to be if we just let it? Stopping chores, restful vacations, delighting in our people and contemplating the goodness of God and His creation?
Summer is the perfect time to take a break from what’s weighing us down, which could mean a Sabbath from hurriedness, competition, comparison, worry, or social media. What would it look like for you to take a break from any of these things in the next six weeks?
And, who knows, these restful habits may weave their way into our fall semester.
3. Give your summer a grade.
Achievers, those of us who lean more on self and less on the God of amazing grace, love metrics and being scored. So why not leverage that love with a summer grade? Here’s how you do it:
- Make a list of the things you want to do with your remaining time. It can include things like books you want to read, the kids-are-in-bed-so-let’s-drink-wine traditions with your husband, or even a last-minute beach vacation.
- Give yourself a grade next to each activity on your daily to-do-list:
- C = Activities you have to do because you’re a responsible adult.
- B = Planning activities that help you do the bucket list.
- A = Activities from your bucket list.
And dare I suggest another grade? F—give yourself an F for every time you engage in an activity that distracts you from A-C activities, i.e. scrolling through Facebook for an hour or watching a show you don’t even care about.
4. Plan for fall.
Summer typically lulls me into laziness and “que sera, sera” thinking, and the next thing I know, it’s September. Deadlines for gymnastics enrollment have passed. My daughter’s birthday party is completely thrown together. And I forgot to register for a small group…blergh.
Let’s use the time during our less-frantic summer to plan for your always-busy fall. As we plan, think about the rhythms and habits you want to integrate as well as any new traditions or fun things you want to add to mix. Click here for a printable that’ll help you do just that.
The next six weeks will come and go whether we leverage them for maximum awesomeness or not, and the choice is ours. Whoosh—shiver—there it goes…summer’s almost gone.