Many years and many sunsets ago, my husband and I decided that we were going to dedicate one particular summer to the pursuit of fun. We called that summer the “Summer of Fun.” We’re super creative like that. But the Summer of Debauchery might have been a more appropriate name for it. This was pre-kids (and also before the explosion of social media, thank goodness!). And we had the kind of fun you could only get away with in your 20s, and probably only in Wisconsin, for that matter.
Before summer began, we sat down and made a conscious decision to generally streamline our lives, leaving as much room for relaxation and playtime as possible. We continued to work, of course, and we still accomplished the absolutely necessary items on our “to do” lists. But we made a plan to temporarily outsource as many of our household tasks as we could (buh-bye yard work and cleaning!), and we nixed or put off any projects that weren’t essential.
The Summer of Fun was filled with swimming and music and sunshine and beer. Lots of beer. It was fantastic and juvenile and stupid and glorious. Let’s just say it’s a good thing summer in Wisconsin is short.
Since the conclusion of that summer, we have had two children, built a house and taken on numerous less significant projects. We may, or may not, have also grown up a tad. That’s really open to interpretation. Now, this isn’t to say we haven’t had other fun summers in the interim. We have! But we haven’t again made such a conscious effort to focus on enjoying the summer season to the exclusion of all the extraneous stuff.
See, we tend to take on challenges, strive for more, keep moving forward. It’s what we do. We need to periodically remind ourselves to stop and scoop up the fun that’s right in front of us.
So we recently decided the time was right for another Summer of Fun. We are calling this one – wait for it – “Summer of Fun II”! It will look a little different from the original. We have traded in our powerboat for an arguably more sensible fish-and-ski number. There will be no dancing on bars (Not that I ever did such a thing, but if I did, you could never, ever prove it.). I don’t see any Shot Skis in our immediate future. There won’t be any semi-permanent houseguests sleeping it off in our spare room. I am at least reasonably certain of all of the foregoing.
There will also be less beer. Don’t get me wrong – there will still be time for beer. But the focus will be different. There will be lots of fishing and campfires and tubing. There will be giggles and smiles and cuddles. There will be ice cream and pancake breakfasts and trips to ballgames and zoos. There will be movies and s’mores. Our summer playlist will likely include some Taylor Swift, to appease my 6-year-old diva, er, I mean daughter. But we’ll sneak in some “Don’t Stop Believin'” too, for old times’ sake.
Most of all, there won’t be any projects that can reasonably wait till next year, or at least till fall (which will likely arrive in Wisconsin in approximately 3.2 seconds). And that’s really what this whole Summer of Fun thing is all about – making an effort to find room in your life for fun, whatever “fun” may mean to you.
So stay tuned for updates on the Summer of Fun II. It began last week, and it’s looking pretty good so far. Do you guys have any fun summer plans?
What a great idea! We never did a “Summer of fun” but we always made time for a family vacation. Our kids (now in their 40s) still talk about those vacations… it’s about slowing down and being in the moment , without distractions. I hope Summer of Fun II is even better than the original!