Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to review your summer.
Speaker 1: Figure out what was fun and what worked and what
Speaker 1: didn't so you can make the next summer even better.
Speaker 1: Every summer, I create a summer fun list. This is
Speaker 1: a list of the various things I want to do
Speaker 1: to make summer feel like summer to me. I want
Speaker 1: to make memories and I don't want to get to
Speaker 1: September and think, wait, we never did that. Creating a
Speaker 1: summer fun list gives direction to this season that feels
Speaker 1: a little different given that I have five school aged kids.
Speaker 1: This summer, like always, I created my list, and I'm
Speaker 1: happy to report that I checked most of the things off.
Speaker 1: I saw a lot of outdoor music, including Billie, Joel,
Speaker 1: and Fish. I went on some bike rides. I ran
Speaker 1: in the early morning. I did one on one mommy
Speaker 1: days with my older three kids and helped facilitate my
Speaker 1: husband doing Daddy days with the two younger boys. I
Speaker 1: went to Maine and ate lobster. I took a writing
Speaker 1: retreat and completed a draft of a novel. It was
Speaker 1: a good summer. Of course, the summer fun list wasn't
Speaker 1: the only thing going on all summer. My kids went
Speaker 1: to various camps, and there are a lot of camps
Speaker 1: in the world, and so we've talked about which ones
Speaker 1: were hits that we'd like to do again next summer,
Speaker 1: and we've talked about which ones were less fun. So
Speaker 1: maybe we choose something different next time, or which might
Speaker 1: be repeats but with modifications. In one case, we signed
Speaker 1: up for camp aftercare not because we needed the extra hours,
Speaker 1: but because the car line for regular dismissal was so
Speaker 1: long it was a point of misery for whoever was
Speaker 1: driving and any additional passengers. Since fewer campers were being
Speaker 1: picked up at aftercare, that became less of a problem.
Speaker 1: We talked about which weekend activities people liked and which
Speaker 1: were not in fact fun for the whole family. I
Speaker 1: know I would like to repeat a date my husband
Speaker 1: and I went on, involving a ten mile bike ride
Speaker 1: along a trail and then a stop for beers at
Speaker 1: a brewery. Afterwards, we talked about our vacations and which
Speaker 1: parts of which trips worked the best and which parts
Speaker 1: could have been improved upon. Nothing is ever going to
Speaker 1: be perfect, but it is good to know if people
Speaker 1: found certain things more exciting than other things. Also, was
Speaker 1: there anything people missed? Summer is long, but not infinitely long,
Speaker 1: and we don't do everything every summer. If there was
Speaker 1: something we didn't do this past summer that people got
Speaker 1: to the end of summer and thought, hmm, I'd like
Speaker 1: to do that again, well, that is good to know.
Speaker 1: You might find a summer debrief helpful too. Those of
Speaker 1: us in the Northern Hemisphere have just finished up this season,
Speaker 1: look back and figure out what worked and what didn't
Speaker 1: or what.
Speaker 2: Could be improved. Those in the Southern Hemisphere can try
Speaker 2: this tip after their summer. A little analysis is always
Speaker 2: helpful whenever it happens. If you need a little help
Speaker 2: remembering what you did, look back through your photos, your calendar,
Speaker 2: your social media posts. What makes you smile, what makes
Speaker 2: you go oh, dear, Remember that thinking about your summer
Speaker 2: is a great way to cement memories and make sure
Speaker 2: you have even more good memories in the future. In
Speaker 2: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 2: to making the most of our text. Hey everybody, I'd
Speaker 2: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 2: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 2: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number
Speaker 2: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 2: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 2: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 2: so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 2: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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