The Summer Bucket List

I've always been fascinated by the people that make these "bucket lists" of the things they want to do before they "kick the bucket".  The lists usually go something like this:

1.  Go on an African safari
2.  Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
3.  Ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower
4.  Read War and Peace
5.  Sing at the Sydney Opera House
6.  Read every Dr. Seuss book 5 times

(Well, I'm not so sure about that last one, but it sounds like a worthy goal, right?)

Anyway, I saw a great post on another blog about a mom that makes a Summer Bucket List with her kids every summer.  Imagine the thought-- a fantastical, dream-filled list of everything they want to try to do before summer kicks the bucket!  I thought that sounded like a great way to soak up the summer and redeem the time (not to mention eliminating the mournful conversation I always have with Paul in September that starts with "Where in the world did summer go and what in the world did we do?")

I was tremendously inspired by this idea, so I sat my little gaggle of blessings down and said, "Family, what should we try to accomplish this summer?"

We now have a big chart on the fridge of all the fun things we'd like to do-- play dates with buddies, berry picking, making pickles, going to visit Great-Grandma on the other side of the state, mom/dad/kid dates, bike rides, having some families over for dinner, and a whole host of other exciting things.  Most of them are very low cost, although two trips to Cold Stone Creamery and a family trip to a Detroit Tigers game managed to sneak their way onto the list.  We'll see how much we can actually accomplish by Labor Day when the bookshelves, pencils, and textbooks begin calling to us and we have to drag our sun-tanned faces back to the table for very "non-bucket-list" things like math facts and very non-exciting, handwritten essays about exotic places like Mount Kilimanjaro and the Eiffel Tower.

So now I'm sending out e-mails, setting up play dates, looking for fun places to visit on day trips, and heading off to our neighborhood pool with four little sunscreen-smelling, goggle-wearing, towel-wrapped people.  It has been fun to see the kids cross things off and anticipate each thing we get to do-- no matter how small or simple.  They're loving being intentional about how we spend our summer.  It has also been a good exercise for this mama that struggles with a tendency toward all work and no play. I'm learning to work hard at finding things that will build up the joy in our family as we play together.  That is most definitely a lesson I need to learn.  Maybe that's why God in His providence caused me to stumble across that other blog post.

It will be interesting to see the list at the end of the summer.  The kids put "Pool" on the chart 30 times.

Literally.

As of tonight, it's 3 down and 27 to go.

Oh, yeah, and just in case you're wondering-- I don't have a bucket list, but I did read War and Peace cover to cover once (emphasis on once) and sang with a music group at the Sydney Opera House.  I'm not sure, but I would be willing to bet big bucks that I've read every Dr. Seuss book at least 5 times to at least one of four tiny people.  As for Mount Kilimanjaro and the Eiffel Tower, I guess I'll have to be content with those exotic, er... interesting, handwritten essays.

For now, though...

...Sunscreen, here we come!