Three Ways to Elevate Your Summer

Summer was always a very special time when I was growing up.  We had road trips, day trips, river trips, and beach trips.  It was a languid and creative time of family activities and neighborhood adventures.  It provided renewal before the school year began again.  

Summer can be rejuvenating for you and your family.  On vacation, you get to enjoy one another’s company for full days instead of partial days when everyone is taxed from school or work.  You get to be a bit more flexible in your activities.   

Keep in mind as you consider how your family will spend time this summer that one-third of the enjoyment is in the planning.  Planning fires up the expectation of fun.  The other two components are experiencing the fun and then remembering it which allows you to relive the experience.    

I encourage you to make your summer a special one, and here are three ways to make that happen. 

When planning for summer, parents so often schedule activities for their children to do.  In addition, I encourage you to plan activities with your children.  Be a participant in a shared activity instead of simply being an observer or chauffeur. 

Take a class together. You have a world of choices, including art and drawing, swimming, music, pottery, dance, jewelry making, and weaving.  One summer many years before moving to New Mexico, my daughter and I took ice skating lessons together.  It was incredibly fun and a great respite from the Florida heat.    

Write a book together.  Co-author a book about one of your pets, your summer trip to the Grand Canyon, or something fictional that you dream up together.  You can have it printed – include pictures! – at sites like Blurb, Flickr, and other print-on-demand services.  Your book will not only make a wonderful keepsake but also a great gift for grandparents, other relatives, and friends.   

Secondly, do something new this summer.  If you’ve watched Tina Fey’s remake of The Four Seasons, you’ve seen the three couples traveling together each season to a different destination.  Likewise, if you remember the 1991 movie “City Slickers” with Billy Crystal, a group of friends had a pact to do something different each year.  They ran with the bulls in Pamplona, skydived, and participated in a “cattle drive vacation” as a remedy for their mid-life crises.  I am not suggesting that you plan risky experiences, AND the discovery and adventure of doing one new thing each summer can be exciting! 

It doesn’t have to be something enormous like a trip to Europe.  It can be something local, such as visiting Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument or going on a river rafting adventure on the Rio Grande.  Those are both enriching and fun experiences that aren’t too far from home. 

Talk with those who will be a part of the adventure – your children, family members, friends – about something new that they would like to experience.  It can be fun to brainstorm over dinner and then pick several of everyone’s favorites for your summer activities.  Be sure to honor preferences.  Skydiving, running with bulls, and driving cattle may not be a fit for everyone! 

Thirdly, include something physical in your summer activities.  Both children and adults are more sedentary now than they have ever been.  By incorporating a walk after dinner or a bike ride with your child around the block or weekly pickleball, it can become a healthy habit by fall.  If you are traveling, add a hike or bike ride to your plans.  As you engage in dance, sports, or swimming, you are modeling the importance of physical health for your children.  

For more on elevating your summer, please download our free e-book, Have a Summer that Rocks!  You will find it at www.WholeHeartedParenting.com/shop. 

I wish you a very special summer full of fun adventures that are exciting to plan and wonderful to remember!