Summertime and the living is EASY!
This summer is such a glorious feeling, it’s beautiful inside and out. As a former elementary school teacher and a lifelong student I am someone who has always enjoyed the beautiful, long and sticky days of fun in the sun.
When I was a little girl we spent summers at Lake Winnipesaukee in the red cottage with my entire family crammed into two bedrooms. We would slid down the water slide and go singing in the rain with my Baba. He would hold the umbrella over us as we sang Frank Sinatra and held hands on the way to go skinny dipping and pretend to be mermaids. There wasn’t a care in my world except which berries I could eat on our nature walks, how long I could hold my cousin Samantha and how late Heather and I could stay up and listen to the night settle in the mountains {we would try anything… even conjuring up not-so imaginary bats!}
As we got a bit older, our summers stayed in the same town of Wolfeboro but eventually changed lakes to a much smaller and calmer lake (yet bigger home): Lake Wentworth. We rented for years until that one day when my parents called me in middle school and we finally owned a summer home up at the lake. That summer was one of the most amazing we have had: we LIVED there and it was ours. We could leave all our toys in the cottage all year long so they would be there when we arrived back the following year and we could paint our bedroom walls any color we wished.
My dad built an entire room/apartment downstairs for us girls and my brother learned a million tricks along the way. He stayed in the “closet” room upstairs as our fortress was built. It is still one of the most amazing projects I have ever seen my family create and something I am so proud of.
Somewhere along the line, work began to take over and boys and friendships seemed more important than family time. I spent more and more time during the summers away and promised my family I would be back when I was able. I went out with friends and created a new kind of summer: one with partying and fireworks, laughter and new friends along the way. People who will remain in my life forever and memories I couldn’t have been happier to create. The boat I worked on became like family and I began to feel the same way about my working summers on the ocean as I did about my relaxing summers on the lake.
The idea that summer wouldn’t exist as it did was never a concept for me. I worked as an elementary school teacher for two years and then went to graduate school. I decided to change professions and become a yoga teacher (best decision I have ever made), and still somehow managed to create SUMMER in my own unique way.
Then a few years ago I was offered a job in corporate that I took and I suddenly realized what the summertime blues were all about. I could see the ocean from my office and feel the sunshine on my shoulders on my lunch break, but I was NOT experiencing summer the way I wanted. For two years I needed to decide between my boat family and my real family. For two years my husband and I needed to plan carefully in order to “fit everything in” on our summer to-do list. And for two years I felt the agony of not creating my own unique summer.
But THIS SUMMER is special and so unique. It’s my first summer back in my own reality and the creations I have up my sleeve are magical. I will never again take advantage of the ocean breeze or the late night lake walks. I will never again take advantage of cousin bonding time or a night out with my best friends. THIS SUMMER will be magical because I will create it to be.
A few things I plan to do on my magical summer wish list this year include:
ॐ Six Flags
ॐ The Wolfeboro Tavern Challenge
ॐ Horseback Riding with Heather
ॐ Karthik’s scuba certification & a dive in Lake Winnie
ॐ Learn to play guitar
ॐ Mount Washington boat & hike with my brother
ॐ SUP Yoga
ॐ Amazing Playlists
ॐ Rock Gym
ॐ Trapeze & Aerial Yoga
ॐ Wakeboarding
ॐ Kayak with Apollo
ॐ Walk every nice day with Apollo
ॐ Water Country
This little wish list is just the beginning. I plan on having as much fun as I can in the next few weeks and promise that I will never again take advantage of the word summer.
What’s on YOUR summer to-do list?!!?
Leave a comment below with your own personal summer to-do list and let me know about one adventure that is a MUST HAVE.
- Sending you sunsets, sunrises & plenty of fireworks!
Looking forward to connecting below.
Love & Light {{LOTS of summer/firework light}}
Namaste
Jenny