Summer Reflections and Fall Intentions
Ahhh, summer has come to an end. The kids are back in school and just around the corner is the fall equinox. Though Southern California is going through another heat wave, temperatures will drop in several weeks, welcoming in the true feel of autumn.
This summer was crazy amazing. It was packed. We did everything. It lived up to everything I hope it would and captured in these photos are the highlights.
Our summer started off with a lovely Independence Day festival in my town and a trip to Knott’s Berry Farm. The photo on the right is at a geode shop at Knott’s Berry Farm, which further intensified my kids’ passion for geodes and rocks.
Soon after, we had an epic four-week-long summer program at our church for families. It was full of delicious food, games, Bible stories, dancing, and much friendship making.
And then, we headed out to Massachusetts to enjoy a couple weeks with my husband’s family on his parent’s beautiful property. Ivy was so much easier on the flight this time around since she’s now interested in shows and movies. Just six months ago, for our Christmas flight out, she wasn’t.
Among the many attractions on their property is a huge trampoline, pool, tree house, and a beach within walking distance. The very bottom right photo was taken on an oyster boat tour. I fell in love with fresh oysters and now I’m a master shucker!
Also during our stay in Massachusetts, we visited one of the earliest pilgrim settlements in Plymouth. Now, a note about the photo just below this paragraph, on the left. In one of the houses, there was a box of pilgrim costumes but there wasn’t enough for all nine of us to have complete outfits. Some of got just tops without bottoms and vice-versa so the photo ended up turning out pretty incoherent…and hilarious.
One of my favorite experiences out there was kayaking on the Cape Cod Bay.
After we returned, we headed out to the mountains for another holiday trip with our friends and their kids. On the bottom left is a photo of our deck and the breathtaking view. Being in one house with six adults, six kids and one infant can be chaotic. Fortunately, the Octonauts team showed up to solve every problem and mystery (except the one where some of the kids woke up screaming in the middle of the night).
Of course, it’s not a complete Southern California summer without a night at the Hollywood Bowl!
And then, I got to celebrate one of my best friend’s 40th birthday with her and our kids in Carlsbad.
And between traveling and driving, summer camp and swim lessons, there was always Halmoni and Haraboji, that we followed around in the garden.
This is the first summer where I felt truly fulfilled by the end of the season. I’m not really a summer season gal, being more drawn to cooler weather, warm sweaters, and routines. The intensity of the southern California heat and the lack of structure has been a source of stress for me, especially after I had kids.
But this summer, I decided to lean into these aspects and make them strengths, using them to create lasting and fond memories for my kids.
Here’s one strategy I employed to do just that: intention setting. This is a common practice within different arenas, from intense corporate workplace settings to small group yoga classes. Setting an intention at the start of a project, season or endeavor serves as a guiding light in the face of so many possibilities and options.
But it’s only more recently that I implemented it into both my daily and seasonal life and the effects are remarkable.
At the start of summer, I asked myself what I wanted the summer to be about. I wrote down any words or phrases I longed for in this summer season. This is what came up:
slow mornings
not rushing to be anywhere
enjoying nature
lots of play
exploration
deepening relationships
Then, I wrote down the activities I wanted to do this summer that aligned with the words above:
swimming
beach days
fulfilling family vacations
more picnics
impromptu bbq’s with family and friends
send snail mail (for Hugh so he feels more comfortable writing)
family bike rides
clean up our backyard so we can have more play and gatherings out there
water balloon fights
And lo and behold, without referring back to my lists more than twice this summer, the summer lived up to everything I initially envisioned.
Why? Because consciously and subconsciously, it directed my decisions and daily schedule. It made decision-making, in the face of a plethora of opportunities this summer, easy. A friend asked if I wanted to put my kids in Korean language classes with her kids this summer. Normally, I would have said yes, usually enthusiastic about supplementing my kids’ learning. But seeing as how we were going on several trips, and seeing as how one of my primary intentions for the summer was slow and unrushed days, I said no. Any FOMO that erupts is abated by the reminder that no now doesn’t mean no forever. Perhaps next summer, I will set that as one of our intentions, honing their Korean language skills. Another friend asked if we wanted to go to Raging Waters, a water park, this past week. Again, this would have been something we would have been thrilled to do but it fell on the same day as another family event at my church. So I said no to that as well.
As we move into a new season, I did another brainstorming/intention setting exercise. My kids are in school FULL-TIME for the very first time so this list is very different than the one I created for summer. This is what came up for me:
organize and design my office in a style that makes me love being there
make significant progress on my book
continue building up the church and our programming (the church has doubled in size since I started and I only hope to continue this trajectory.)
celebratory and fun holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my husband’s, my daughter’s, and my birthdays are all in the fall)
healthy and delicious homemade meals
slow/nature-oriented rest times after school.
wonder, exploration, and free-play
sweaters, jeans, earrings, a new fall/winter capsule
consistent meditation/prayer/yoga
I love the fall. It is, by far, my favorite season. I love the weather, all the orange and brown hues that surround me, I love each of the holidays (including all of our birthdays). I love cozy sweaters, coupled with a warm cup of tea at my desk. So, it was easy to come up with this list since I’ve been dreaming about each of these activities.
What was surprising to me though, was my desire to carry the slow and steady feeling of summer into the fall. Fall is traditionally known to be a fast-faced, busy, generative season. Then, I started wondering about how to make it so that I’m not falling into those rushed rhythms again.
I thought of a few ideas, like: 1) Going on a nature walk or gentle scooter ride after school instead of sticking them in front of their tablets. 2) Only committing to one extracurricular activity for the kids (for us, that’s soccer). 3) Taking a full sabbath day of rest and journaling at least once a week. 4) Waking up earlier in the mornings so we have plenty of time to have a slow breakfast, get dressed, and prepare lunch boxes instead of with the frenzied pace of last school year.
I created this cheat-sheet snack and lunch box chart to make prepping their meals in the morning easier.
I was also surprised by my desire to create another seasonal capsule wardrobe. It worked wonders for me this past summer so I foresee a future blog post about my fall/winter outfits.
How was summer for you? And, what are you dreaming about for this fall? If you want to use my practices for your own intention setting, set aside about 30 minutes in a quiet space and write down whatever comes to mind for these two questions:
What words/images/goals do I desire for this upcoming Fall season?
What practices or routines can I put in place to align with those intentions?