SUMMER FUN DAYS

I don’t know about you, but if I would let myself, I would work all of the time.  I take that back…I would work and work and work till I get to a place of overwhelm and then I would fritter a day a way in a very mindless fashion.  I have to-do lists out the wazoo and they grow instead of diminish the harder I work.  I keep a running list of all of the things I need to accomplish and you would think that it would start to become smaller with time.  It grows.  And lately, I have been more and more inclined to the mindless days as a reaction to “The List”

This mindset, although productive for the most part, has not in the long term served me well.  So this summer, I am breaking the pattern. I am creating a paradigm shift.   I have instituted what I can “Fun Days”.  Instituting these days, at first, seemed to be more difficult than I thought.  Fun.  Fun.  What can I do for fun.  Coming up with the list took a while to get my mental juices going in the direction of fun.  Then the list began to flow and whenever I came up with another idea it would go on the list.  I was sharing this idea with some friends and a friend suggest that I cut up the list and put it in a sand bucket for summer and pull from the bucket to create my fun day as they arrived. 

I calendared in six fun days this summer—which is amazing because the summer is so full of teaching college classes, home obligations and prep for the fall that my time could be frittered away on “have to’s”.  (I am liking that word “fritter” today—it seems playful).  But fun is a have to, too.  AND TODAY IS MY FIRST FUN DAY!  Happy Tuesday!  Happy Fun Day!  I have been thinking about this day for the past week.  The rules for this day are:

1.       I have fun on Fun Day!

2.       I don’t do anything on my “to do” list.

3.       I don’t mindlessly waste the day away.

4.       I choose from my fun list activities in any way that makes the day full of fun.

So today I slept in.  My daughter is coming over to make me breakfast (after I asked her to join me for breakfast).  I am taking a walk in nature by myself.  I am writing.   I am going to see a funny movie during a matinee on a Tuesday with a friend who happens also to be free—but I was willing to go by myself.  I am making a yummy appetizer and then joining three other friends for a reunion dinner. 

I calendared in the dates several weeks ago, knowing that I would be doing this activity this summer.  The dinner came up after I had scheduled the fun day.  Since it is fun I calendared it in.   A dentist appointment also came up for today. That is not fun so I politely asked if we could choose another day for the appointment.  You need to know, creating fun is really hard for me…so sticking to this is really an awesome accomplishment.

So, today is my fun day.   How are you including fun into your summer?  I have lots of ideas in my sand pail, if you are looking for some ideas!  Happy summer fun!

Thank you, Stacy and Ruth for hosting us on your site.