Just-for-Fun Summer Goals

I’ve talked about setting some just-for-fun summer goals for a while now. And, well, the deadline is here:  school ends today! It’s time to stop the pondering process and get down to the business of creating my just-for-fun goals list.

My main goal this summer is to be more relaxed, more playful, and happier than I have been in past summers. I have to admit that trying to balance it all during the summer can be challenging. There is a lot of fuzziness in the boundaries between home, kids, work and personal projects during the summer and this fuzziness can create stress. But only if I let it. My goal this summer is to embrace what summer is and go with the flow.

My list of just for fun summer goals will follow the same relaxed approach. This isn’t a checklist of things I must do…but rather it’s a list of possibilities. It’s a list of things that sound fun now. If they continue to sound fun as summer goes along, and if they support my overall goal of being more relaxed, more playful and happier…then I will do them. But, if they start to become an obligation that creates stress and adds more pressure, I won’t. I’ll do something else instead, something that helps me feel more relaxed, more playful and happier. So here’s my list…of not really goals…but rather a list of possible ways to achieve the real goal this summer which is to enjoy summer for all it is.

• Unplug from all electronic devices one day a week. (I think this will be Saturdays.)
• Sit on the front porch and listen to the rain.
• Be a tourist in my home town. I live just outside of St. Louis…and there is so much here that we haven’t explored yet. It sounds fun to do some exploring and view this city with the eyes of someone who hasn’t been here before…someone who digs in and explores, instead of taking all that it is for granted simply because it is home.
• Go on my first ever mother-daughter road trip to Michigan. (And be there to celebrate my Dad’s 75th birthday. Yay, Dad!)
• Run in the Komen St. Louis Race with my daughter.
   

• Play with my camera more. Perhaps this will be a photo-a-day all summer long. But again, I’m not going to put pressure on myself and add stress. Today it sounds fun. If it sounds fun again tomorrow…then I’ll do it again tomorrow. 🙂
• Create a place to capture daily gratitude. I feel a project coming on…but it hasn’t bubbled all the way up to the surface yet.
• Take the kids to the pool…and play!
• Enjoy homemade ice cream.
• Watch less T.V.
• Create a list of things my kids would like to do this summer.
• Ride my bike. I don’t think there is anything that takes me back to childhood and the essence of summer more than riding a bike. Remember the days when bikes were your only mode of transportation? I bet there’s nothing that will help me feel relaxed and playful and truly embrace all that summer is more than a good old fashioned bike ride.
• Eat outside as much as possible….on the deck, at the park, etc.
• Enjoy experimenting with fresh, organic fruits and veggies from a local farmer. Yum!

• Create something…just for the fun of it/
• Relax in the hammock and read a good book.
• Remember that my family is my number one priority.

Welcome summer. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go have some fun.

What are your just-for-fun goals this summer? I’d love to hear from you.