Creative Solutions for Living

“Summer break is almost here.  Tomorrow, to be exact, the school doors split wide open and the kids will pour out with their remnants of worn school supplies and paper-filled backpacks trailing behind them.

 

Each year I attempt to put together a small congratulatory and ‘Welcome-to-Summer!’ basket.  Favorite snacks.  New books.  A mix of games/puzzles/art kits I picked up here and there.  It’s my way of saying, ‘Job well done.’  To all of us.

 

The kids have already started gathering ideas for their anticipated Summer Bucket List. Admittedly, it is one of my favorite things to do with them. I’m a sucker for fun checklists. Campfires and s’mores. Combating the stifling humidity at the pool. Road trips and watermelons. An abundance of afternoons in the hammock and movie nights with popcorn.

 

We tend to approach the finish line of the school year and spring activities with a readiness but let’s face it, a bit worn and weary too.

 

I love our bucket list.  But this year, I craved a different kind of list.  I needed something that breathed a bit of renewal back into these bones.

 

What would it look like I wondered, if I revised the summer bucket list? One that maybe, not just filled my time, but also my soul?

 

As the kids scribbled their ideas, I decided to craft my own version. Rather than my normal combination of family activities and personal goals, I posed a slight alternative. What would a life-giving bucket list look like? What intentions, moments and adventures could I add for a more soul-filled summer?

 

I thought about areas I felt drained.  What I missed or desired. What would add a bit of bliss and delight. What would challenge and inspire me. The list started to take shape.

 

More gatherings and community around the table. Hikes and long walks in nature. Unapologetically reading for stretched-periods. Sangrias in the shade. Road trips to family and extended travels to sights unseen. Farmers’ markets and tomatoes picked straight from my backyard. Rainy days of old-school board games and countless summer fruit crisps.

 

Did you too just breathe a sigh of renewal? Me too.

What are you craving?

What do you enjoy?

What can you let go of?

 

Let this be a summer of letting go and inviting in. Letting go of perfection. Pent up stress. Forced expectations. Past drama. Regret and guilt.

And let it be instead an invitation to:

Breathe.

Step into gratitude.

Savor slower conversations.

Cultivate your creative side.

Rest.  

 

**Want to have a copy to create your own Soul-Filled Summer list?

Get yourself a copy here!

Here is to many refueling, restful, lovely moments 😊**