Summer is the one and only time of year when i totally embrace Carpe Diem, and when you might mistake me for an Enneagram 7. If there is an opportunity to get together with friends or have an adventure, we find a way to make it happen. Someone wants to meet up at the lake but it's going to mess up nap time? We'll figure it out! We're passing the ice cream shop on the way home from swimming but we're going to eat dinner in an hour? You only live once! There's a campfire with S'mores happening but it's 2 hours past normal bedtime? Let's do it! There's an art festival downtown but it's the third activity of the morning? We'll make it work! My posting about my kids on social media ramps up (hard to believe that's even possible, right?), and I don't post the half of it.
The thing that's odd about this is, it's really different from the way I live and parent during the rest of the year. During the school year, I run a much tighter ship with routines - I'm waaay stricter on bed times, way more avoidant of adding things to our already full schedule, way more aware of all the problems with deviating from our daily routine, way quicker to avoid dragging 3 kids out of the house on a whim, and just generally way more of a stick in the mud.
I (purposefully) made the contrast sound negative, but I think it's okay to have seasonal variations in mode. For me, summer is the season of yes, fall is the time of reflection (Thanksgiving and Advent provide some great prompts for this), winter is the time for staying in and embracing JOMO (the joy of missing out), and spring is about growth and taking on projects (spring is when I do things like train for a half marathon or start a blog - I'm still hoping that one of these years, it will result in a massive organization spree). The time limited nature of seasons, as with all things, is part of what makes them enjoyable (think about vacations, Christmas season, college - would they be nearly as fun if you were living that way forever, rather than just for a few days / weeks / years of your life?).
Also, as much FUN as it is to be in the season of yes (and it really is spectacularly fun), I don't think that a life well lived is primarily about fun. I think real joy comes from meaningful activity, and I think meaning comes from making deep commitments to relationships and institutions - family, friends, work, church, community - and living out those commitments faithfully. You're able to do that better if you're not constantly seeking out the next dopamine hit. Our summers are fun, but if our entire life looked like this, it would be kind of a hollow shell - no showing up day in and day out to produce something of substance, no thinking of others above ourselves, nothing beyond what is fun in this moment.
However - Summer is the time when I most love life and love the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. I'm trying to find ways to bring this enthusiasm and embrace of life into the other three seasons of the year, while accepting the limitations of things like weather and the school schedule. I want to be quicker to say "yes" to all that life has to offer in the other three seasons of the year. I would love to hear your suggestions about how you've brought joy from your favorite times of year into your less preferred times of year.
While I'm waiting for your comments, we're going to try to squeeze in a few more lake visits, hikes, friend hangs, and ice cream stops! Long live the summer!
