What I Really Want to Do This Summer

Today is considered the official start of summer, the state of mind if not the season.

It also marks — I know because I’ve been keeping track of such things — the 151st day of the year. One hundred and fifty-one days, incidentally, that I have posted at least daily on this site.

That’s a lot of words. And a lot of work.

I’m really happy and proud that I’ve managed to do it this long. I didn’t know when I started if I could do it for a week, or a month, let alone now almost five months.

If you feel a but coming, here it is.

But. Summer is here, and the girl is going to be home a lot, and we’re already experiencing and loving the slowed-down pace, where I work around the edges but most of my time is devoted to spending time with her.

I want park trips and art experiences, going to the library and the farmers’ market and the museum and swim lessons (starting tomorrow) and playing in the yard and reading and watching movies and doing nothing. And I want to be fully there for her while we are doing those things.

I want less computer time and more time playing with sidewalk chalk in the rain with a girl dressed like a wedding fairy. And more bad restaurant selfies with my favorite people.

There is still work that has to be done, and there will still be blogging.

But it won’t be every day.

If you subscribe to my newsletter (and if you don’t you can do so here; there’s a fun freebie in it for you) you may have noticed I skipped this past week for the first time since I started it in January. I may be moving to a twice a month schedule for the summer. And maybe longer. Who knows?

Summer, I think, should offer breathing room, space to think about your priorities and how they might change when the busyness of the school year comes back.

And there’s a lot that’s going to change.

I haven’t talked about it here, but I was (along with many others) recently let go from About.com, where I’d written about knitting for almost 10 years. I was feeling a sense of winding down about that job for a lot of reasons, but I expected to have it through the summer, so that’s a big change. Replacing income as a freelancer is never easy, but I’m excited about the new projects I’ll now have time for.

But for now, I’m enjoying the girl (and husband!) as much as I can. And that’s better than any self-imposed goal that no one else cares about.

What are you doing this summer?