Confession: I’ve been sitting home like a bump on a log for days. Like, several days in a row.
Truth: I feel my mind and body atrophying right before my eyes.
For those of you with summers off, it can be a slippery slope to laziness if you’re not careful. It all starts out rather innocently, resting up from a long busy year. But staying stuck there, dangerous!
I realized yesterday that even my hubby was picking up on my sedentary suicide when he suggested we take our bikes to a park trail in town and do some adventuring. I almost said, no. Once you’re in the vortex of doing nothing…..it continues to suck you down further.
Get out now while you still can. Oh, who am I kidding? No one else is being a slug like me. Most other people are out living!! Overachievers!
To inspire you (the you’s who are lounging around a bit longer than you should be) I’ve come up with a list of MUST DO’S for the summer. You’re welcome!
Clean up your porch or wherever you like to sit outside of your house. Add a few new plants or flowers, hang a comfy swing or put out some rocking chairs. Then get out there and enjoy them! Do it every day, unless it’s raining. If it’s raining, stay in unless you like playing in the rain. Maybe a good rain dance will get you out of your funk, I don’t know. Just get motivated.
I was grouchy and totally jerky by the time my hubby suggested our bike ride last night. Don’t let your sluggishness get you there. Get out and take a walk or ride your bike. If you have a jeep or motorcycle (God protect you) take them out for an evening spin. The weather is amazing right now and the bugs in your teeth all wash out. I promise.
Get outside! If you were like me, growing up….you played outside all summer long. There’s something good about being outside and running wild. Same with cooking outside. Food just tastes better when it’s cooked over a fire or on a grill. If you have a fire pit, crank that dude up and gather around. It’s relaxing and a fun way to spend a summer evening with the people you love.
Paint some Twister dots on your lawn, invent a water balloon game, get out your croquet kit or badminton net…whatever it is that your family screams with laughter doing. In Indiana, Cornhole boards are still the rage. Challenge Papaw to a mean game of Cornhole. Do something that involves getting wild and crazy outside. You’ll sleep like a baby and you’ll make memories.
You read that right! Get out and go camping! For weeks, my hubby and I have been whining about hitting the campground with our little tent and blow-up mattress. Call us crazy, but it’s fun! Over the last 25 years, we’ve done a lot of camping. With all that sleeping under the stars have come some of our best memories. I believe every family should camp at least once in their family’s journey. I guarantee, NO ONE will ever forget it. Besides, the food. Camp food is absolutely the best food ever. Hello, S’mores? Duh!
Don’t squander your summer away sitting on the couch. Don’t waste time with your kids that you can’t get back. Don’t let your bum grow fatter because you can’t get moving. Don’t don’t don’t!
Summer only lasts 8 or 9 weeks; take some mini trips, grow something in your garden that you’ll eat, build a fire out back, race your kids in the backyard, invite friends over for a cookout, swim day & night, turn your music up, take the top off your Jeep, stop for ice cream or make your own, have a homemade pizza night, host a sleepover, hang a fun flag representing your family, decorate in & out for summer activities, have a balloon fight, share memories of old, go to a matinee movie, eat fresh veggies, take pictures, drink lemonade, go fishing, take kids on “dates” separately, try a new restaurant, eat out on the patio, hop in the hot tub, put your hair in a ponytail and have fun!
Be ready for belly laughs and lots of smiling faces. Summer fun is what it’s all about!