School’s out for summer! My middle daughter had a rocky end to the school year. She got sick the second-to-last day of school, spiked a fever, and had to miss her class party. She also didn’t get to say goodbye to her beloved teacher, who is moving away this summer. The poor girl was also sick for her class Christmas party, so this was extra sad. I have a fun surprise in mind to help make it up to her though!
With her being sick, we had to pivot our plans. But we still managed to have fun! My oldest daughter kicked off summer break at the pool with some classmates. I actually said yes when another mom offered to help drive her, and I was so glad I did. Not adding 45+ minutes of driving helped me stay on track with my time budget and have time for my responsibilities and the fun I had planned!
Vacation Planning
Our summer vacation plans have been up in the air for months. We’ve considered the beach, but I’m just not much of a beach girl. It was hard for me to get excited about this option. So we put it off. And put it off. Which means that now the places we were considering cost almost as much as a Disney vacation. And if I’m going to spend Disney money, I want to go to Disney.
However, there are lots of other places I want to go eventually. Disney feels easy with our kids at their current ages. But I don’t want to default to only Disney and never do any of the other trips I’ve dreamed about. So my husband and I sat down Friday night and mapped out a tentative plan for the next few years. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do all of it (gotta find both time and money!). But it’s nice to have a roadmap. And making a plan is always fun for this Enneagram One! Stay tuned for where we land this summer…
Farmers Market
My toddler is solidly in his truck era. I had a feeling I was creating a monster when I slipped First 100 Trucks and Things That Go into his stocking. (I was right, so at least I’m happy. Enneagram Ones love being right.) When I heard our local farmers market was going to feature a fire truck Saturday morning, I knew he would love it. He did indeed love visiting the “fire twuck market” and getting to climb inside the truck. The weather was perfect, and the live music made the experience extra festive. There were so many vendors that I didn’t go home with anything—too many choices! I’m also trying to be more mindful of my spending now that we have more defined vacation goals! So this was a fun free outing.
I have to admit that my Enneagram One-ness almost prevented me from going. New experiences can be hard for me. What’s the parking like? How long will it take? What are the RULES? I wasn’t sure if it would be a waste of time, and wasting time can really fire up my inner critic. But I had a feeling that I would be proud of myself if I powered through my uncertainty and went. And sure enough, I was. I had a good time, and I’ll get to treasure the memory of my son spotting a jet and saying, “Fire twuck, do you see da airpwane up dere?!”
Family Game Night
My daughter was finally feeling better by Saturday, so we were able to have family game night. It was my week to pick, and I went with Ticket to Ride. This is a bit of a longer game, but thanks to my time budget, I knew I could “afford” the hour of game play. My younger daughter really got the hang of it this time and might have won if not for her overly ambitious ticket-collecting strategy. Dad got lucky with his tickets and won by a landslide. The rest of up were glad to leave him with 180 train cars to wrangle back into their bags!
Ticket to Ride says it is for ages 8+. We’ve been able to play as a family since the youngest player was 6, but this was the most engaged she’s been (she’s 7 now). If you want to give it a try with younger kids, Ticket to Ride First Journey is available for ages 6+ (we would have let younger kids give this a go).
If you’ve mastered the base game, we’ve also enjoyed Ticket to Ride New York, and I’ve got my eye on Ticket to Ride France. There are other expansion versions available that take you to a variety of countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany. This could make a good Father’s Day gift for a dad who’s into family history or as a way to get your family excited about an upcoming adventure!
Duolingo
Even though Paris didn’t make it into the vacation plan for the next few years, I’ve been using Duolingo to try to learn the basics of French. I took Spanish in high school, so this is new for me. Or at least it was 500 days ago. Yep, I hit a 500-day streak on Sunday! I usually do a lesson with my coffee, which is something else I probably have a 500+-day streak on. I sometimes worry I’ll forget and break my streak, but I’ve found that the app is quite good at pestering you until you log in! I’ve enjoyed getting to learn something new, and it’s fun to celebrate this arbitrary milestone! Now, how do you say “enneagram” in French?
Weekly Planning
I filled out my time budget for the upcoming week, which is usually a fun exercise for me. Although I was hoping to have more time available now that school pickup is done, some large commitments filled that time pretty quickly. I was a little disappointed—until I remembered that most of those things are fun! I have a brunch and a birthday lunch scheduled, plus a adventure with the kids to check out a new ice cream place! Going back through my budget and highlighting the lines that represent fun helped me better appreciate how I’ve committed my time.
Reading Recap
James by Percival Everett has been everywhere. It’s won a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It falls more in the Important Book than Fun Book category. Don’t let that scare you! This is not a hot take, but it’s very well written and accessible. The book tells the story of Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnfrom Jim’s perspective. My husband reread Huck Finn before reading James, and he thought that added to his experience. I didn’t but wish I had. I might pick up Huck Finn next just to compare. Jamesis historical fiction, and the subject matter is heavy. However, I really enjoyed getting to know Jim, and it’s important that we not lose sight of the reality of our nation’s history. As we honor those who sacrificed for our freedom this Memorial Day, may we continue to champion freedom and equality for everyone.
I hope your weekend was fun! Share your highlights in the comments!
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