I love summer. It’s my favorite season, all of it. Every year we make a list and yes, a lot of it is tradition and repetitive, berry picking, ice cream trucks, going to the pool, reading a book, going to a drive in, hiking, fireworks, but part of the joy is thinking in advance about all the fun we will have. So I present on this Memorial Day Weekend, my summer list. It’s not all the usual stuff, but there are from this weekend to Labor day, one hundred days. We need a hundred ways to mark the occasion.
100) Ice Cream. It’s always summer if you’re eating ice cream.
99) Fireworks (Ditto)
98) Playing cards.
97) Going to the pool.
96) Going to the library.
95) Berry Picking.
94) Praying a daily rosary of grattitude for this season of warmth and wonderfulness.
93) Painting a room.
92) Planting a garden.
91) Waterballoon fight with children.
90) Drawing every square inch of the driveway.
89) Going to the fair.
88) Baseball –watching, not playing.
87) Practicing my drums.
86) Going to a concert.
85) Watching a movie as a family.
84) Hiking in the mountains.
83) Skipping rocks.
82) Pilgrimage to a local shrine.
81) Adoration in the heat of the day.
80) Dance competition with your family. (Rejoicing in the gifts of our bodies)
79) Board game day. (No screens)
78) Fishing. (It’s what the apostles do).
77) Summer Cleaning and donating, also known as Trucky day in our house –I rent a truck. I love it.
76) The Beach –my personal sacred place, all of the ocean.
75) thrifting.
74) painting on canvases.
73) daily rosary or daily mass, in person or listened to.
72) Star gazing. –marvel at the heavens created by the One who created them.
71) Smoking a brisket, a slice of heaven.
70) Visiting battle grounds, learning history, honoring the dead and praying for their souls (Spiritual Act of Mercy)
69) Going to a museum, taking in the beauty.
68) Teach two daughters how to drive –it will also improve my patience, and increase my faith.
67) Hammock time –it is good to rest.
66) Write letters. Saint Paul did, we should too.
65) Go to the Zoo.
64) Rent a Kayak or Canoe on a local lake.
63) Bonfire s’mores.
62) Spa day at home.
61) Kite Flying.
60) Spend a day in DC.
59) Food Truck Day.
58) The Aquarium.
57) Library, once a week.
56) Mario Kart Races with handicapping. (It will be my kids’ revenge for driving lessons).
55) Symphony at the local theatre.
54) Theatre at the local theatre.
53) Practice the piano.
52) Write 5oo words a day, even if it’s just a list. It’s good practice for your brain.
51) Weekly Classic Movie Night. I made a list a few years ago, I will pull that out and use it.
50) Beat Bobby Flay –we used to do this, and I am the reigning champion, but my husband has become much more accomplished as a chef in recent years. I still have speed on him, but he has skill.
49) Whiffle Ball in the back yard.
48) Throw a party.
47) Date Night once a week. Part of sustaining ourselves.
46) Help 8th apply for college.
45) Shop for Back to School Stuff.
44) Visit family, both sides.
43) Ride horses. I’ve done this in Shenendoah and love it.
42) Go to local farms –mushrooms, fresh cheese, tomatoes that can be measured in pounds, wines, it’s wonderful.
41) Volunteer with the Church pantry program.
40) Bowling with family.
39) Minigolf –bragging rights do sometimes cause people to pray perhaps for victory more than they should.
38) Comedy Club –we’re near DC, think it’s something we should explore.
37) Provide Paul with opportunities to read, write, garden, and cook.
36) Run/walk in a 5k.
35) Blow bubbles.
34) Pedicure day, all the girls who want one.
33) Dentist day –taking care of the body.
32) Physicals day. Ditto.
31) Planetarium.
30) Visit three colleges.
29) Go to Charlestown and see the horse races.
28) Ocean City for a weekend.
27) Smith Island. (Never been). Always good to go somewhere new.
26) GoKarts.
25) Sugarloaf Vineyard.
24) Gettysburg –we go almost every year on the 3rd.
23) Hershey Park or Bush Gardens.
22) Daughter goes abroad.
21) Take a class at the local school in something. –Exercising the brain.
20) Catch Fireflies
19) Declutter. (Proof of the triumph of hope over experience).
18) Chase down the ice cream truck.
17) Drive in Movie –hoping for Godzilla Minus One.
16) Jump off the high dive –it doesn’t matter how often you do it, it’s still a bit scary.
15) Help two of my kiddos find summer jobs.
14) Write an article a week for somewhere to submit. (Again, hope over experience).
13) Read a book a week. And encourage all my kids to do the same. Audibles count.
12) Edit. It’s a discipline I need.
11) Take dog for daily walks –it’s when I’ll get in the rosary. Tomorrow’s her birthday.
10) Thank God daily for my family, and all the gifts of every day.
9) Go out to lunch with friends, once a week all summer.
8) Take a trip to visit a friend (in July).
7) Work on working out –by doing my therapy stretches I’ve ignored for several months.
6) Visit daughter out in Chicago so she knows, we think of her often.
5) Go to confession once a month to keep my spirit properly docile.
4) Try to spend less and use what we have more.
3) Home grown tomato salad –a taste of Heaven if ever there was one.
2) Eye appointment –been putting off, need to do. Will help with many of these goals.
1) Outings with each of my children –individuals, at least one each, this summer.
If I do even half these things, the summer will fly by and be loads of fun, and that doesn’t include the two graduations, the trips my daughters took –one to London, another to Italy, or the trip my son and daughter are taking to California, which I will enjoy vicariously, or the conference I’m attending in June. Summer will be a season of celebration, even on the quiet sticky hot days, because the dog will still need to be walked, and ice cream eaten and God, thanked.
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