Every three months our household takes a bit of a dip--stress levels rise and everything just feels...harder. I only made this connection last week after reaching one of those "nothing's working out!" points.
Being the dutiful person that I am, though, I kept pushing. Pushing through our routine, pushing through blog posts, pushing through laundry, pushing through life.
Call me crazy, but when I signed up for this motherhood gig--"pushing through" was not what I hoped for.
And when I thought I might not be able to take it any more, an idea from above popped into my head. It originally came from Erin of exhale. return to center. a year or so ago.
What we need is more fun. So I called the kids in for a family meeting.
We sat around the dining table with a sheet of construction paper and brainstormed a summer fun list--all the things we would like to do this summer. I mentioned that we might not be able to do everything, but that brainstorming means you write down all ideas and decide officially later.
Now get a puppy, go to a hotel, and clean the upstairs each morning (none of those came from me, by the way) did not make it to the final list.
But some awesome ideas did: have a cookout with friends, sleep outside, go camping, pick berries, make popsicles, ride on a train, make butter, and more.
Our summer fun list gives me plans for the days ahead, a bit of helpful structure for those spontaneous moments that don't always happen on their own. As a case in point, I rarely let the kids get ice cream from the ice cream truck. But I can get excited about doing it one time as a special treat over the summer.
And when I wake up and think, "This would be a nice day to do something special," I now know just where to head for ideas.
I'm enjoying this activity so much I think we'll make a fun list for each season; maybe it will help us avoid reaching this blah, stuck-in-a-rut place in the future.
Ahhh, returning from the edge of burnout. Feels good.
What would your kids put on a summer fun list?
