The Summer Not-To-Do List

I originally wrote this post last summer for Circles of Faith, but its message is near and dear to my heart, probably because it's what I'm always learning. I wanted to share it again today, in honor of our first full week of Summer Break. Plus I made a free printable for you! Happy Summer, friends!

{Click here to download a printable version of this Summer Not-To-Do List.} 

Dear Summer,

I’m so glad you’re here. You’re like the best friend who has been gone too long. My 9-year-old daughter who is so very literal would remind me that you don’t officially arrive until June 21, but the kids have been out of school almost a week now so I’m embracing your arrival.

I almost always have a to-do list near me. If a notebook isn’t physically near me, I’m emailing myself something I want to remember or making a mental list. One of my greatest fears is that I will forget. So I make lists.

But I don’t want to forget to live with you, Summer.

I look at our calendar and your days are filling up, especially the weekends in July. We’re going to visit my sister and her family in Buffalo, NY. We have a what’s-becoming-tradition long weekend in St. Louis with our best friends. And we’re wrapping up your days, Summer, at Hilton Head Island with my parents and siblings and their families.

I’m intentionally not filling some days, but even planning not to plan is a plan. Plus I’ve been purging and organizing and packing because we’re moving about 10 minutes away to 33 acres that fit our family well.

Cate’s going to a couple church camps. Ben wants to ride his bike and play in creeks. And Rachel just wants to go wherever everyone else is going.

And, of course, the kids and I want to spend many, many afternoons at the pool with our friends. We want to pack our lunches, go the park, and explore. We want to eat ice cream and read books.

These big plans mixed with ordinary days are why I love you, Summer. {Tweet that.}

You welcome a break from routine and foster adventure. In an effort to embrace this freedom and truly live with my kids, I want to have a not-to-do list that fosters joy and peace and grace and freedom.

Christ alone brings those things, but, you, Summer, help give me perspective on how to live. So I'm making a different kind of list right now. Instead of obsessing over what I need to do, I want to embrace a not-to-do list, a reverse bucket list of sorts that frees my soul.

This kind of list will prompt different kinds of check marks and I hope the victories spill over into your friends – Fall, Winter, and Spring. I want to grasp hold of truth so I can live more abundantly regardless of the season.

Sincerely,
A Momma in Kentucky

What are you looking forward to about summer? What does your Summer Not-To-Do List look like? {Tweet that.}
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