I saw my first lightning bugs of the season the other day. I had run out to the Shack after putting Happy down to grab something I needed and when I turned to run back into the house, there they were– lighting up the night.
The first lightning bugs of the year always catch my breath. And I keep marveling at them, all season long, because they are just so marvelous. It is like they are playing a flashlight game of Marco Polo, and I can never get enough.
But the arrival of summer doesn’t just mean it is time to gape at the lightning bugs. It also means it is time for my sweet little family to spend time drafting up our summer of intentionality list. While you can read all about the inspiration for and history of SOI here, put super duper briefly, SOI is a master list of what we as a family or individually want to try to learn, experience, try and/or do over the course of the summer. When we’re done with writing, we display our list in a prominent location and get to living it.
So far… this year’s list includes (we are still adding to each night at dinner):
Horseback riding. Have pizza delivered to the pool. Build and support a Little Free Library. Keep a regular journal. Participate in the library summer reading program. Read 100 Books. Go to Defy Gravity. Stand up paddle. Learn to do a flip off the diving board. Do a cannonball off the diving board. Make and hang a dream catcher. Go fishing. Bird watch. Go to the beach. Complete 1st Grade Workbook. Camp out. Go to the amusement park. Go to a movie. Go to the Raptor Center. Watch fireflies. Play mini-golf. Take the bus to the city. Feed horses. Picnic. Bowling. Do something for the helpers in our community. Play bocce ball. Donate to the local food pantry. Watch the clouds from the hammock.
Key:: Blue- Happy Red- Me Orange- Family
Today, I want to encourage you to create your own Summer of Intentionality dream list for you or your whole family.
What do you want to learn, do, experience, enjoy?
Capture all your wishes, make plans, and then get started having a summer that lives up to your hopes with the caveat that not necessarily every single thing will be crossed off the list, but you are far less likely to get to the end of summer and think, “I wish I had…”
