Who doesn’t love a summer bucket list? The possibilities are as endless as the those days between June and August. We fill our lists, and subsequently our days, with trips to the museum, water balloon fights, camping in the backyard, and lemonade stands. We plan and execute family vacations and put a check in the biggest box: making memories. And while I wouldn’t have it any other way, I am the first to admit that I lose a bit of myself in the hazy days of summer.
But not this year — in addition to my family’s list of must-do activities, I am crafting a little list of my own: Mommy’s summer bucket list.
Don’t get me wrong — I love my children and relish the opportunity to spend our summers together. But filling their buckets is going to be difficult when my bucket is bone dry. And that’s why I have decided to create a summer bucket list for myself, full of those things that feed my soul in a way that makes it possible for me to be the best version of myself.
Children need a lot from us; some days it seems like I can never give enough. But if I spend my days giving all of me to my children without taking a moment to reflect on what I need, I am nobody’s best version of a mother.
Here it is, folks. Twenty things I plan to do before summer kicks the bucket.
- Go to brunch with my oldest Texan friends. Drink too much coffee and overstay our welcome at a cozy little restaurant.
Photo by Kendyle Nelson on Unsplash - Take one of those blissful naps that sort of organically happens. I’m thinking, dozing off while reading one of my favorite books and then curling up and enjoying that extra sweet sleep for the next two hours.
- Enjoy an entire day of using the restroom entirely independently. No little eyes watching my every move (see what I did there?) or talking to me through the door.
- Clean my closet and morph into one of those women who organizes her clothes into outfits and doesn’t spend her mornings breaking a sweat trying to get dressed for work.
- Spend an early morning in a coffee shop with my laptop and a latte.
- Run errands in a car that is free of discarded artwork and Cheerios. It should be noted all cup holders should be clear of melted chocolate and previously chewed gum wrapped precariously in scraps of said artwork. I guess maybe I should rent a car for a day.
- Devote a rainy day to reading in my favorite corner of our couch; no children should be jumping on me.
- Talk to my sister on the phone uninterrupted until we’ve said all we need to say.
- Try out the new yoga studio in town.
- Watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee — because I planned to, not because someone (or something) woke me up against my will.
- Visit my Orangetheory Fitness Arlington Highlands family more days than not.
- Wipe my own butt exclusively for one full day. Just one day.
- Drink champagne slushies by the pool with some of my favorite girls.
- Hole up in my bedroom, watching reruns of Law & Order: SVU for an entire afternoon.
- Spend a few nights in the Catskills at my treasured The Roxbury Motel.
- Take an early morning hike with Dexter, the foster Weimaraner.
- Spring for the deluxe pedicure. Maybe twice.
- Enjoy a grown-up dinner with T at one of our favorite Fort Worth restaurants — after 7:30 pm.
- Listen to my sweet children playing alone together for AT LEAST 20 minutes before the whining and fighting ensue.
- Go kayaking.
What’s on your list this summer, friends?
