What’s On Your Summer Bucket List?

Yesterday was Jackson’s last day of school (yes, in NYC, public schools go all the way ’til the every end of June), so today feels like the first official day of summer in our family, even though the weather’s been warm for weeks and it’s been staying light out until 9 since the end of May. Now, we have ten weeks of not having to worry about homework, being to school at 8:20, and waking up Joanie from her nap to go pick up Jackson at 2:30. With a more flexible schedule, longer days, and maybe even a spirit of leisure, I’m hoping I can cross some of these things off my summer bucket list:

Teach Jackson to ride a bike (without training wheels)

Re-start a regular yoga practice

Go to the beach at least once a month (checkmark for June after our trip to the coast of South Carolina earlier this month — now I have to make sure we make it surf-side in July and August and maybe early September, too)

Weekly picnics (in the park, in the botanic garden, at the beach — I don’t care where, as long as it’s outside, on a blanket, and involves refreshing beverages and lots of cheese)

Disco rollerskating (there’s a rink in the park not too far from us that hosts disco rollerskating parties every Friday and I’ve always wanted to try it out. This is the summer I do!)

See a play (on Broadway, off-Broadway, wherever — the key is to take in some culture since we live in the capital of the theater world, after all)

Enjoy some live music outdoors at least once a month (this month we saw the NY Philharmonic perform in Prospect Park, which was amazing, especially since friends with VIP tickets invited us to join them right up next to the stage; I hope to experience more stellar music outdoors this summer!)

Swim in a lake (we have a family trip planned for Chicago, so I’m reasonably sure we’ll go swimming in Lake Michigan, but I’d like to add an additional lake to our summer agenda… I’m just not sure when or where that might be yet)

Enjoy an evening in Red Hook with Drew (it’s one of our favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods that’s remote and different enough from the rest of the city that it always makes us feel like we’re on vacation when we’re there, even if it’s just for dinner and drinks)

Read five books (This should not be a hard one! I used to read five books in a summer week, EASY, back in the day. But things have changed, and when I find time to read these days, I am usually so tired that I pass out after a few pages. But I miss reading, and I feel the effect not reading has had on my attention span, creativity, mental agility, and emotional well-being, so I am going to give myself the challenge of reading five books and try my very hardest to meet that challenge)

#Resist (Attend marches, make phone calls, send postcards, donate to causes and campaigns I support)

Eat a lot of ice cream

What’s on your summer bucket list?