The “Girl Next Door” recent podcast revealed a lot of useful information and planning admiration and maybe some jealousy on my part. Kelsey and Erica are amazing. They complement each other so well; similar and yet so different. I aspire to have the free spirit of Erica and Kelsey’s organizational skills.

And while I booked our Northern Italy adventure back in January, this episode made me think more granularly about our summer. The little things. How I want to feel. Things to accomplish. Things to try.

I want to feel: balanced, productive yet rested, present, inspired, and loved. I want to feel well, physically and mentally.

Activities to make that happen: books, travel, down time, exercise and movement, journaling, meditation, quality time. Structure with some room for spontaneity.

Some observations from prior summers…

Summers definitely give me some breathing room: I can move slower, spent more time reading, doing puzzles, exercising, just sitting and thinking. It’s a no-brainer but it’s true.

Summers contain A LOT of time with the kids since I don’t work at my teaching job so my job is “the kids.” Which at their ages is not very hard BUT can definitely have some challenging moments.

We always take one major summer trip. Summer trips can be intense but are truly the best memories: Iceland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy.

For new readers… I love traveling and I do it with the kids. My partner works in corporate so he comes with us for about a week but I tend to stay longer with the kids.

Timeline…

I finish work on June 17th (our high school graduation!)

June 20-22 is our *rescheduled* camping trip

June 22-26 – open with kids in school till the 24th

June 29- July 3 -open

July 6-July 30- Northern Italy trip

Note: August in New Jersey can be disgustingly HOT and HUMID.

August 3- 7 – adjust at home

August 10-14 – summer camp for both kids! Cheerleading and swim.

August 17-21 – open

August 24-26- classroom set up for me

August 27- my district opens the new academic year!

On “open” weeks I envision beach days, library visits, movies, and playgrounds. Also some downtime in our backyard, trampoline, and typing practice for my oldest (going into 3rd grade). Reading off summer reading lists given by my kids’ school.

I also want to continue with my annual goals, with the first two being 1. Take good care of my mental health and 2. Take good care of my physical health. Visits to the YMCA to exercise, sitting outside with coffee as the sun rises, meditation, journaling. Puzzles.

Am thinking about taking on a house-related project… maybe scraping and painting the third floor staircase that leads to the attic?… We have a patch of peeling paint next to the kitchen window that is bothering me.. Maybe some decluttering?… I need to roam around the house and yard and capture some tasks.

Our Memorial Day

It RAINED from Friday night till Monday morning. We played games (StarWars monopoly!), watched TV, went swimming at the Y, did laundry. Not the most exciting weekend BUT also kind of nice to stay at the house. The kids went to see Mandalorian and Grogu at the movie theater. I had some time with David (Sedaris), did yoga and roamed around the house.

Do you listen to the Girl Next Door?

Do you have summer goals/wishes?

Pic on the front: there is nothing sexier than a man with a chainsaw. My husband T cutting up a fallen branch in the back yard.