241 - Summer Purpose
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Show Notes:
Today’s episode is all about the purpose of summer. What is the purpose of summer? What is the purpose of your summer? What do you want to get out of it? How can we walk through summer with a heart of contentment, gratitude, really enjoy it and make the most out of it?
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
Oh guys, it’s the last one. It’s the last summer episode in June. I hope you’ve enjoyed these! This is off the cuff, but I should have a survey. I am going to go ahead and do that (this is me thinking aloud as I’m recording), but I’m going to put it together so that you can go to nancyray.com/survey and let me know how you’ve felt about the podcast this year. I’ve changed some things up; subtle but good. I’ve done a lot more interviews this year. I have tried out theme months for the last few months. We’ve had “Rest.” We’ve had, “May is for Mamas.” Now we’ve had “Summer.” If you like the themed months, I would love to know if there are any other themes you’d like for me to focus on. If you don’t care for them, I would love to hear that. If you don’t care for the interviews as much, I’d love to hear that. I’d love to hear any feedback that you have. So I am going to put that together (nancyray.com/survey). Please go fill that out and let me know how I can improve Work and Play with Nancy Ray.
I do want to let you know, I am going to be off the podcast for the whole month of July, just enjoying summer. This mini-podcast series on summer has been just what I needed to get so excited for the summer. If you didn’t listen to that first episode in June (episode 238, I talked about my summer projects. I talked about my legacy binder that I have been working on. You can get your own checklist for that at nancyray.com/legacy.
I talked about my family yearbook that I want to finish and complete. You can learn how to do that on your own through my course, which can be found at legacyphotosystem.com. Even if you don’t want to do a yearbook, but you want to get your photos organized, go to legacyphotosystem.com, just read about it and see if you think it could help you because that could be your summer project (getting all your photos onto a hard drive and organized). It feels so good to have that done.
You heard about my bedroom refresh that I’m working on this summer. Then we talked, in the next episode, about summer play and all the fun things that we are planning for this summer. Then, I talked about summer prep, how preparing in advance can really help you enjoy your summer more, how I’m basically turning my minivan into “summer on wheels” and how I’m going to be so prepared. Guys, so prepared in my minivan with any opportunity of fun that comes my way.
Today, I just want to encourage you to think about the purpose of summer. I want to start by asking you (we can pretend like we are having a Winter Summer Moon latte together, which is my FAVORITE summer beverage. I get ¼ Summer Moon Winter latte. It’s so good! If you don’t have a Summer Moon Coffee near you, I’m sorry. It’s just the best). Let’s just pretend like we’re sipping our coffees and chatting about, “What is the purpose of summer?” Obviously it’s one of the four seasons and there is purpose in that. But for you listening, what do you need out of this summer? What do you hope to gain this summer in particular? Do you need more sleep? Do you need more recreation and to move your body more? Do you need to figure out how to workout well and strengthen your body? Do you need to eat differently, eat healthier, or just infuse life and creativity back into cooking for your family? Do you need a good book? Do you need rest? Do you just need a break, like I do, from homeschooling and the more intense life schedule that the school year brings? What do you need this summer? What’s the purpose?
I want to encourage you first, as you’re thinking about that, to not compare your summer to other people’s summers. That will be the first way the joy will be sucked out of your summer. I want you to keep your summer as simple as you need it to be. Alternatively, maybe you’re the family or you’re the person who loves to plan adventures, travel, go places, and do a bunch of things. Maybe that is what you need this summer and what you want to do because you’re coming out of a lot of years where you weren’t able to do that. Wherever you are, I just want to encourage you, don’t compare your summer to anyone else's. I’m here to remind you that you are going to be seeing a bunch of people and doing a bunch of stuff. Whether you see another person, mom, or whoever while you’re out and about and they are looking all put together, they are planning a bunch of things with their kids and you feel lame about what you’re doing, or whether you see people posting on Instagram about crazy vacations people are posting, you don’t know the whole story. I want to encourage you that if you need to get off your phone or get off Instagram, just do it. Just take a month off. I promise the world is not going to fall apart. I will probably take a nice long break this summer (I might do it in July). Don’t compare yourself. Just remember, you don’t know what kind of money they’re spending on things. You don’t know how long they have saved for that experience. You just don’t know. Guys, we just don’t know. So I’ll get off that little soapbox now, but I just want to encourage you, there is no greater thief of the purpose of summer than comparing how you are doing summer to how someone else is doing summer. You do summer however you want to do it. Stop looking around and just enjoy it.
So let’s talk about the purpose. I think for me, the purpose of summer is to take a deep breath and to enjoy life. I enjoy life the rest of the year, but summer helps you stop and really enjoy what it feels like to have the sun on your skin, the breeze blowing on the back porch, and hearing the cicadas outside, the frogs at night, and reading a good book. It helps you wake up to the beautiful world around you and I think that is a purpose of summer.
I think another purpose of summer is obviously to make memories with your children, and your family, and to create experiences that bond you together. Get those core memories in their minds and in their hearts so that you feel closer as a family.
I think the purpose of summer is to taste really delicious food that you love. Also to remember the beauty of seasons. No matter how hard you try, you cannot taste a strawberry in November and have it taste the same as a strawberry freshly picked in May. It reminds me of God’s goodness and intentionality in creation. Summer helps me slow down, think about those things, and enjoy them.
I think summer is also a time to take back. One of the purposes is to step back from the routine, the work, the expectations, the turning in of the homework, the lesson plans, everything we do, the piano, the gymnastics, the soccer. We keep it tight and keep it rolling in the school year. Summer is a time to set back and gain a little bit of perspective on life. It’s why I take off the month of July for my podcast. I want to gain perspective on my life and my work. I want to get infused with adventure, creativity, new opportunity. I want my brain to relax a second so I can have new ideas and think through things.
I also feel like summer has the purpose of pouring into our children’s hearts in a way that is more organic. It creates more opportunities for off-the-cuff conversations with them. It provides time and space for discipleship to happen within the family. I am really excited to take my kids through a simple Bible study this summer. I’ve got to figure out the rhythm of how we do this, but I’m really excited to take them through a contentment Bible study and talk through what it looks like to be content, to play, to love your friends well, to enjoy God and worship Him. So I think one of the purposes of summer is to build a relationship with your kids, not only in a playful way but in a spiritual way. Also, as a family, to grow more tight-knit in faith.
That’s it! I don’t have anything else other than, keep that conversation rolling in your head. What purpose of summer do you see, do you find, do you need? What do you need the summer of 2024 to be for you? Cling to that, think about that, take a deep breath, and inhale what summer is this year for you. Don’t let it bypass you. If you need that creative space and creative margin, make space for that and then go to something creative. Try some new things. Be brave. Go on more adventures if that’s the summer that you need or pull back, simplify, and say “no” to a ton of stuff if that is the summer that you need.
My kids are just getting into summer camp and I was talking with another mom just two days ago. I was like, “What do you have planned for this summer?” She was like, “We’re going to visit our family one time and that’s it.” I asked if they were going to camp or anything else and she said “no.” I just thought, I love that. That’s beautiful. So much time to be with your family, to play, and to explore. There’s so much downtime. Summer is for down time and summer is for exploring.
Keep this going! Maybe jot down a few things you heard me say that apply to you. Then go enjoy it!
Guys, I just want to ask one more time. If you could leave a review, I would be so blessed by that. If you have listened to more than five episodes of Work and Play, I would so appreciate it if you would leave a review. Instead of that, if you want to text an episode to a friend, I would really appreciate it. Especially these summer episodes. It would mean a lot to me if you did that. Thank you for being a listener. Guys, I hope you enjoy your summer! I hope you have some good summer projects, that you play, that you prepare well, and ultimately, that you don’t lose sight of the purpose of summer.
I am going to close with words from Lucy Stone who said,
“I expect some new phases of life this summer and shall try to get the honey from each moment.”
Thanks so much for listening! Happy summer and I’ll see you in August.
