Hello, summer! It’s not over yet! What are your summer goals for our remaining days of warmth?
If you’re a parent, summer usually involves camp drops offs, childcare dilemmas, and hopefully squeezing in some family fun in the sun. It’s easy to get wrapped up with your family, your kids, your work, and your responsibilities, but what about you? What will YOU do this summer? When is the last time you set a personal goal for yourself? One that isn’t career-oriented, or family-oriented, but something that is just for you? I can tell you it’s been a long time for me too. That’s why I’m stepping out of my comfort zone, and I bring you my summer goals, and the five ways this mom will make this summer personal.
ONE: Actually stand up and paddleboard.
This may sound easy, but after owning a paddleboard for almost five years- I have only used it a handful of times. Granted, most of those attempts were when I was pregnant or postpartum, but I still tried! I lacked confidence to stand up though. I would try and fall off, and instead of continuing, I’d just sit down and paddle- because hey! I’m still using it, right? I never made that extra time for myself to head down to the local pond, or the small lake down the road, and Lake Champlain just seems too intimidating to me.
We pack it up every year we vacation in Maine, and last year I sat down and paddle boarded over a school of fish- so forking cool! Well, this year, my big summer goal is to actually stand up and paddleboard while on vacation. I know I can do it, I know I have the core strength to do it, and I think I have just enough confidence to make it happen! Stay tuned though, I’ll let you know how it goes.
TWO: Pay off my credit card debt.
This may feel like a family or a married couple goal. However, this is something that I want to do. I want to earn additional money from whatever extracurricular activities I’m doing to focus and pay down my one aggressive credit card. Yes, that’s right. I have credit card debt. If you don’t, that’s amazing and keep up the great work! If you do, let’s make a plan together and get ourselves out of it! Will it happen overnight? Unless I win the lottery, the odds are stacked against me. However, making small steps in the right direction will help this mom check off my second summer goal. Again, stay tuned.
THREE: Learn to drive my husband’s tractor without him knowing.
You may be thinking; why does she want to learn to drive her husband’s tractor? Great question! The best way I can describe it is, it doesn’t matter, it’s my summer goal. Plus, it’s a fun goal. My husband is amazing, but sometimes he can be a bit critical – especially when it comes to tools and their proper use. He’s a YouTube guy, and I’m a Pinterest gal living in this glorious world of ours. We each have our own learning styles, but I can be a bit difficult with his teaching methods.
I want to be that country woman that wields a chainsaw, whacks the most aggressive weeds, and maneuvers a tractor like no one’s business. Not to mention, we use the tractor for plowing and for processing trees once they’re cut. It would be very beneficial to my future business endeavors to rock the tractor without supervision. It requires confidence and commitment on my part that I just haven’t dedicated yet.
So, check back later and I’ll let you know how this summer goal panned out.
FOUR: Teach a yoga class.
You could interpret this summer goal as a career objective, however, it’s a stepping stone to my personal growth. I FINALLY finished my 200-hour yoga teacher training and have my certificate to prove it! I have had dreams of teaching nature yoga classes in our woods and having goat yoga with our beautiful new baby goats.
Again, this one requires confidence and practice. I’m still new to teaching yoga, and I really believe in all the benefits for not just your body, but your mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Again, this summer goal requires practice and dedication I just haven’t shown yet. I will get there, and hopefully, I will build up that confidence to teach a one-hour yoga class! It most likely will be a free family and friends edition, but I need to start somewhere!
FIVE: Play in a disc golf tournament.
This is another fun personal summer goal that has been years in the making. My husband introduced me to disc golf the first year we were together. It was an amazing and fun thing to do together and keep our dogs involved. Now it’s something we can do with our kids.
This is the first year we didn’t get a membership to the course near us, mostly because we just don’t have the time with house buying/selling/moving. That’s a story for another day. Again, I spent a good chunk of time the last six years pregnant, or postpartum so I never committed to a tournament. My husband has fully encouraged me and supported me to sign up for an annual tournament, but it oddly feels selfish. If it’s a one or two-day tournament, someone needs to watch the kids. Guilt comes out of nowhere right?!
Anyways, I’m finally back in shape, I’m no longer pregnant or postpartum- and I want to play in an actual disc golf tournament! We’ll see if this summer goal happens, but it’s still a fun goal to have.
When I mentioned that I was going to write about my summer goals topic, a natural reaction from some is “good luck”. It seems like many people react this way when moms think of themselves first. Parents make so many sacrifices for their kids that I want to emphasize that I think it’s time to think of personal growth too. With some communication, spousal support, and dedication- summer goals can happen! Maybe start small and think about those things you’ve always wanted to try, or always wanted to do. Talk to your family, and make a plan to make it happen.
