Balance, a day late to Tuesday Topics, which is soooooo apropos

 Jenny wrote a terrific Tuesday Topics post answering this question: How do you find balance during summer chaos?

And I? Am still thinking about the answer. I have been mainlining Lazy Genius podcast episodes as I always do when the season changes, and I have been struggling to name what matters, which is her brilliant first step. Enter Jenny's post and a total lightening bolt moment. BALANCE. 

Balance matters.

 In fact, if I were picking a word for my season (which, actually? According to my blog, I am), then that word would be BALANCE. Season 1, second semester, was FUN (because on paper, it did not look like a very fun season. So season 2, which, on paper, looks totally kid and house-heavy even though I have work to do and fitness goals to hit, is going to be BALANCE because that is the thing I would most like to have.

I cannot even tell you how relieved I am to have that first -- most important--planning step out of the way. I mean, of course I have done the summer calendar, so I know what our time commitments and activities are, but I have not let myself think about our daily rhythms and how to make sure my non-negotiables are smoothly incorporated. But now! I can! Because I know that BALANCE is the thing.

So many balls in the air this summer, and I want our days to include:

time to exercise (I exercise between 90 and 130 minutes a day, if you count my 60 minutes of walking)

time to get dressed and put on my makeup

time to work and think deeply

time for kid activities (dance and dive drop offs ad pick ups, plus swim lessons, plus Minnie's theme of the day)

time for kids to have fun (boring, 90's-style, unstructured fun)

time to tidy

time to feed everyone (thoughtfully and intentionally, even if that intent is pizza and vodka lemonades at the pool)

time to read

time to loaf on the couch

time for friends (mine and theirs)

BALANCE, you guys, is the key to making sure most of these thing happen in the course of most days, even when (especially when?) I am the only parent home (but not the only adult! we have FOUR ADULTS in our house this summer!)

Above please see a stand-in adult attending Minnie's school picnic since Ben and I were at Cooper's 8th grad graduation. (SOMETIMES THE BALANCE IS TENUOUS, and that's OK).

Also, side note: running in the summer SUCKS. Gvie me a 5-degree morning ANYTIME.

Season 2: SUMMMMMMMMA

 Oh, do I love summer!

The relaxed mornings!

The pool!

The light reads by my favorite, most reliable authors! 

Minnie and I put together a light summer structure that we are super excited about since we are continuing to be camp-and-childcare-free.* Here's what we got:

Make it Monday (baking or crafts, weather dependent)

New park Tuesday

Sweet treat Wednesday (stole this years ago from Kelsey Wharton)

Library Thursday (this one is mainly for me because I need a regular day f I am actually going to read my books).

Fun Fun Friday

Here's Minnie's Friday bag of destiny:

Besides that, I have a few other goals for this fleeting season:

Celebrations:

We have 8th grade promotion, high school graduation, our 15 year house-iversary, our 21st anniversary, Harry's 20th, and Minnie's 6th-- I want to make them all special and memorable. We will also celebrate TWO college move-ins this summer and dance and dive nationals season. Phew!!

Fitness:

Increase my daily run from 30 minutes to 40

Take a barre class

Take a hot yoga class

Household:

Trade out some of my daily cleaning products for less toxic versions. I will still use bleach spray in the bathrooms when they need it, but my everyday wipe-down cleaner could be something gentle not lemon bleach-free Clorox, for example, that makes me cough and cannot possibly be good for us.

Use baking soda and a toothbrush to clean the sink when I am putting the kitchen to bed

Personal/professional development:

Work on an intentional email check in routine instead of the avoid and dig out shuffle I have going on now

Use my planner every day

Write in my one-sentence journal every day-ish instead of doing a binge

Do 2 no-spend days a week

Observe Christmas (shopping) in July

Fun:

Visit our town's James Beard nominated bar

Go out to dinner with Ben

Order pizza at the pool

Drink Tito's and lemonade by the pool (literally does not feel like summer until I do this)

Cultivate a yes-and mentality as default summer mom mode

Do a Girls rewatch while I lift weights (this show is freaking hilarious now that I am basically Hannah's parents).

*Cooper and Dorothy both have diving from 10-11:30. Then Cooper dives again from 2-5. Plus Dorothy has 12-ish hours of dance a week. And Cooper works at the pool's front desk in his off time-- they are SO BUSY that they really don't have time for anything else. Sports ARE their "childcare" and they are both old enough to BE my childcare for Minnie, so this is not the flex it used to be.