You guys, I always joke with my friends that I’m a great summer friend. Not so much a great fall/winter/spring/school year type friend- but in the summer- I’m great! Haha.
First of all, I just thrive in the summer. I love a hot day, especially if I can get into the pool. I love sunshine. I love wearing shorts or a skirt or sundress. Even during this past week when we have had a crazy heat wave, I’ve been loving it. It’s just my favorite kind of weather.
During the summer, I’m not working, so I am a lot more flexible in scheduling. I know people always make fun of teachers for having the whole summer off, but honestly it takes me at least half of the summer to recover from the burnout of the school year, especially the sprint that is the month of May. That has been so true this year. I felt like June was all just recovery- trying to catch up on sleep, resting my body, restoring my mind, all that good stuff.
I love that the schedule flexibility gives me a little bit more time to establish a good workout routine. I run a lot in the summer, and I usually also have time to do some weight building/cross training, which I have never been very successful at doing during the school year!
I know a lot of people who do an awesome job at having their kids do at least a small amount of schoolwork in the summer- but we are not those people. I’m a big fan of letting the kids fully empty their brains over the summer haha. Of course, we do still consistently read on a daily basis, and we mostly turn off all screens, so I’m not the least bit worried that their brains are rotting.
Living on a homestead in the summer is amazing- the animals are busy (although keeping them cooled down is always quite the job!), my sunflowers and wildflowers are blooming, and the kids can spend hours playing outside- on the trampoline, the playground, the pool or driving the 4 wheeler around. All 6 of us LIVE outside in the summer- we basically come inside to grab food to eat and when we are sleeping!
Our church also takes the summer off from most scheduled activities like small group, bible study, etc. I honestly wish that we didn’t because I am MORE free in the summer, but I get why they do this, and it removes at least one more commitment from our schedule.
As my kids are getting older, they are getting busier- even during the summer! One of my kids has sports conditioning for fall sports already, we have a school “playdate” calendar, we’ve had two family reunions this summer and VBS. I have to work hard to guard our time and make sure that we have some “dog days” at home where there is absolutely nothing scheduled.
One negative thing I’ve noticed about my summer self is that I feel much more lonely in the summer. Besides church, there is not any consistent adult interaction for me. I try to have friends over for playdates or invite a family over for dinner, but it doesn’t always work out and I find myself realizing that I haven’t talked to an adult in several days or longer. People tend to be “less busy” in the summer, so they schedule vacations and travel and it’s hard to depend on consistently connecting.
I have a goal of being a “fun house” and kind of being the host house for hangouts, but my dream hasn’t matched up with reality yet. Maybe my dream/goal is too lofty, or maybe people are a bit intimidated by our “wild and free” summer vibes, or maybe people are just already so busy! If you frequently host people – kids or adults- at your home in the summer, what are some ways that you make this happen?
All of my life, summer has been my favorite season. I don’t have much to complain about when summer comes around. However, I have really learned in these past few years to enjoy each season and embrace them as they come. It’s such a great metaphor for life, too. Sometimes there are seasons that we love, and sometimes there are seasons that we absolutely do not thrive in.
What about you? Do you feel like a different person in the summer? Do you like summer or dislike it? If you are the “fun house”, how did you get to be that way?