SUMMER FUN LIST

In our house we do a summer fun list.  This is our 7th year doing one.  It all started as a way to distract my boys while my ex and I were going through a divorce and we were still living in the house.  I didn't want the boys last memories of us as a family to be ones of anger and sadness so I needed a distraction- hence the birth of the summer fun list.

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That first year was amazing!  Both boys remember the fun list.  We went to the zoo and splash pads, had shaved ice, did fun crafts, but they had good memories.  The second year was to distract them from the fact that we weren't a family anymore so the summer fun list came back into existence and we clung to it that year to bring us joy.  Many of the same things were on it, but that was also the year of the epic summer road trip to Pennsylvania so we had lots of fun things to add to the list.

The years that followed became a tradition and one that we all looked forward to eagerly.  It became a reward for good behavior so that I could work in the summer while they were home and my business picked up.  It became about giving back and volunteering.  It became about having fun on a budget.  But it was always about having fun together and making memories.

Over the years the list has fluctuated from a long one of over 100 items, this year we are at about 40.  We NEVER get it all done, but some years we've come awfully close.  It becomes a game at the end of the summer of how much we can do.  

The last few years there have been conditions on getting to do one- chores and summer reading that need to be done first.  This year there were additions for Luke to be a part of it.  And this year I think we will find it difficult to find the time to do a lot of the items on the list because of summer camps and VBS and family vacation and band camp and summer swim.  I swear summer goes by so fast when they get older.  

I wonder if next years will have more low key things like nap day or chill day?  But the point of it all is to build memories and find time to do things together!  And they are growing up so so fast, that I cherish all the opportunities that I can hold them close and that they WANT to do things like this with me.  I will be very sad when they don't get as excited about it or even want to do one anymore, but I have a secret weapon- a baby brother that they will need to keep the tradition alive for, and it'll serve as a great tool to bring us together to spend time and make memories for years to come.