Giving Up the Idol of Productivity

I am loving all the pictures I'm seeing of families celebrating the summer together. It's inspiring to see how families create joy together. And you know what? I've decided that I'm giving up holding on to frustration with the lack of childcare during the summer months (work at home parents, I know you totally get what I'm saying) and lamenting how lonely it is for an only child with no neighborhood children to play with. Instead, I'm going to change my attitude and really be in the moment as much as I can this summer. I'm giving up worshiping at the idol of productivity. It's the last summer before my baby goes off to school full-time. I'm going to blink, and we'll be packing up her belongings for college. 

Those of you who know Baby Owl personally certainly know how she always has to be DOING THINGS and TALKING TO PEOPLE (yes, it requires capital letters for her intensity), so we made this list of (117!) ways to enjoy the summer together. It's a bucket list of sorts. We're not going to mad-dash through it just to check things off, but look at it as a reminder of all the cool opportunities we have to be together and enjoy the moments we have. I need those reminders to parent as whole-heartedly as I work, because really... my most important work is that of Mom. Mothering isn't an interruption in my life. It is a beautiful piece of it. This list is my intention to enjoy that slice of my life with this amazing little human.

I'm going to be documenting moments of this project with pictures to make into a scrapbook at the end of the summer, but I'm going to be really careful not to live life through my phone screen. It's so hard to not make everything into a showpiece for others to see.

Anyway, I would love to share this list with you. I have it set as an email download you can get for free here: 117 Ways to Enjoy Summer

Full disclosure: It’s a freebie for signing up for the Mama Peacock Baby Owl email list. Feel free to sign up for the Summer Bucket List and unsubscribe at any time afterward. It won’t hurt my feelings. If it brings you a smile or helps you enjoy this fleeting time with your kids a little bit more, that’s exactly what I want. Happy summer, friends!