I’m a recovering Future Tripper – how about you?

Because I live in the tropics, we do a lot of traveling north in the summer.

Rentals and summer camps require some way ahead of time planning (like thinking about July in January) and I’ve been known to make a summer spreadsheet.

Planning the summer brings me tremendous joy…until I cross over the edge and find myself in Anxious Control Land. It’s the next town over and I find it easy to end up there if I’m not paying attention.

With kids out of their usual routines, more travel, changes in the weather, and a longing to cut loose and play hooky, how do we set ourselves up for a summer we not only savor in the moment but also remember as one for the books?

There are 6 easy steps I’m taking as we head into summer to make it dreamy. Give ‘em a go and prepare to enjoy!

The first step is super fun. (Well, I think they all are!)

1. Pick a flavor for the summer.

Is this a sultry summer? A carefree summer? An adventurous summer? A lazy summer? Ask yourself what you’re craving right now or what flavor would be medicine for you. Let yourself be surprised and delighted by what comes through.

2. Remove the unnecessary.

We’ve been programmed by culture that when we want something, even a specific type of summer, we have to add more things. Nine times out of ten, though, subtraction gets us closer to our desires. Take a look at your calendar and see what can be removed during the summer months. This is the time to minimize all obligations beyond the essential.

3. Put in the big rocks.

Pretend your summer is a mason jar. You’ve got big rocks and small rocks you want to put in. The big rocks are the things that matter to you most like quality time with your kids, taking care of your body, etc. The small rocks are things that are nice to have but non-essential. These will be different for everyone but I’d put day trips, household projects, and saying yes to every invitation with friends and family on this list for me.

Put the big rocks in first. Schedule in the stuff that you know preserves and enhances the things that matter most. Then when it’s time to put in the small rocks (thing gravel-size), when you pour them in, they just fit easily in all the nooks and crannies between the big rocks.

If you put the small rocks in, the big rocks don’t fit. But big rocks first and there tends to be space for all of it, as long as the small rocks go in second.

4. Make a summer desire list.

You can do this solo and/or with a partner and kids. List out all the possible things that you’d like to experience this summer. Use your summer flavor as a jumping off point. For example, if my summer flavor was sultry, maybe I’d like to experience a warm summer night on a blanket under the stars to the tune of the peepers with my husband. Your list can include little things like reading on your porch with a cup of coffee and big things like a stadium show where your favorite artist is performing or a week in the South of France!

This is not a to do list. This isn’t a list of everything you’re gonna try to fit in your summer. This is simply a list of desires. It doesn’t matter how many of them you experience. Use it for inspiration and to guide you towards a summer to remember.

5. Leave more space than you think you’ll need.

My eyes tend to be bigger than my schedule. I find that scheduling fewer things leads to more joy. Summer for me, is about being carefree and having open space for spontaneity and magic. If my schedule is packed, even if it’s with fun stuff, the summer speeds by and I kinda feel like I missed it.

Less really is more when it comes to summer schedules.

6. Get support.

This one’s for the parents.

Kids out of school and wide open schedules can be so fun! And having a few camps and babysitters and/or trading childcare with friends makes it thousands of times sweeter.

I’ve got one kid who doesn’t do great with endless days of unstructured time, so I know for her especially, she needs other kids and stimulus outside our nuclear family.

Take a look at your summer and see where there are opportunities to lean on community and/or other support so that you can enjoy your desired flavor of summer without making 25 snacks a day or listening to little people whine about being bored sometimes, too.

Or at least you can team up with other families and make snacks together and let the kiddos prevent boredom for each other.

May this summer be delicious. May you savor it. May you make memories. May you structure it just enough to make room for magic, both planned and unplanned.

Love,

Kate