Quarantine life has been quite difficult and seemingly impossible at times. Between juggling distance learning, figuring out how to pivot in work and business, cancellations of events and celebrations, the delivery of bad news over and over again – it’s definitely been a year we will never forget.
The world as we once knew it came to an abrupt stop, and suddenly our pace of life was forced to stop as well. But somewhere in the midst of figuring out our new normal, I personally started to realize that quarantine life was the reset I never knew I needed. And it was the reset I didn’t know my kids needed either.
We slowed down, our minds began to clear, and best of all – we focused on our family unit. My family really started looking forward to the magic of the quarantine weekends – we raised butterflies, made friendship bread (and distributed to friends), drank coffee on the deck, ate dinner on our patio, rode bikes, and went on neighborhood scavenger hunts. The weekends have been simple, schedule-free, and really special.
And now, after a taste of the simplicity of the quarantine weekend, I’m more than ready to enjoy the pace of an old school summer. I think we all need it. We’re talking 1980s, go with the flow, carefree summer of FUN.
Now that school is out, I want to take a break from zoom, put down the screens and have a nostalgic, old school summer!
How to Have an Old School Summer:
Have a freezer full of Otter Pops *plenty for the neighbor kids too
Go on a drive, with no destination in mind.
Wear nothing but swimsuits, all day, everyday.
Let the kids ride around the neighborhood on bikes and scooters.
Run in the sprinklers.
Have pizza delivered to the swimming pool.
Make s’mores.
Build a fort and keep it up for the week.
Find the ice cream truck.
Say yes to sibling sleepovers, even during the week.
Watch a family movie on the deck or driveway.
Drink water from the hose.
Remember the pool counts as a summer bath.
Catch fireflies.
Go to the drive-in movie theatre.
Let the kids play flashlight tag.
Ride bikes to the gas station to get candy.
Spend an evening on the trampoline gazing at the stars.
Camp out in the backyard.
Have a movie marathon.
Play hide and seek.
Run barefoot in the backyard.
Have a water balloon fight.
Encourage the kids to create a hideout.
Keep the pool bag stocked.
Go on hiking adventures.
Let the kids get b-o-r-e-d.
Most of all, I want to enjoy this time. I’ll never forget when my girls were babies and I heard someone comment on the fact that we only have 18 summers with our kids. So I want to commit to an unscheduled, carefree, old school summer. It’s what we all need.
