Inner Child Summer
It's Officially Summer!
Invitation to Join: Inner Child Summer
Think back to your childhood. You're looking at the clock and you have 5 more minutes until school is out for the Summer. No more tests. No more homework. No more waking up early. The energy is vibrant and there's excitement in the air. All you can think about is doing nothing and hanging out with your friends. Here we FREAKING go.
Remember that feeling?
Remember asking your parents to take you to your friend's house and hanging out by the pool thinking about nothing other than how good the sun feels? Swimming all day. Eyes red. Pruny fingers. Eating all the fun snacks. There was no outside world. There was only that moment.
Remember going to the beach and running into the water? Getting sand all up in weird places. Not a thought about what you looked like you were just having the time of your life. Did you even know there were other people at the beach? All you felt was the warmth of the towel you were wrapped up in, exhaustion and pure joy. Maybe some salt in your sandwich.
These are the distant memories of our youth.
Before we felt the need to look like a model on a runway walking to/from the ocean.
Before getting out of the pool felt like it had to be some sexy movie scene.
Before we saw cool girl Sally was going to Italy on Myspace and we were “stuck” at home.
Before it became about all about what we were going to wear to John's pool party.
Somewhere along the way, we forgot Summer was about fun and relaxation.
Somewhere along the way, Summer became the season of comparison.
Somewhere along the way, Summer became about our bodies.
This Summer, let's rewind, shall we?
Because really, Summer has nothing to do with our bodies.
Yeah, we might be wearing less clothing, for no reason other than... well... it's hot.
You wear a sweater in the Winter and a bikini in the Summer. So?
Your body, this incredible, wonderful body of yours that works SO hard to keep you alive, and safe, and moving, and grooving, just wants to have fun, be taken out, be played with, wear cute things, feel the sun, feel the air, feel joy, feel loved…
Look at photo of your younger self and say, “No, you can't go play because I don't like the way you look right now. What will people think? You have to stay here, stay covered up, and watch everyone else have fun." I mean… Is that all that really matters?
Let's take back the Summer and get back to having some FUN.
We might not be able to take off a whole month to just hangout with our friends, sit around and do nothing… forget how to spell the word “together” (did anyone else ever come back from Summer vacation totally forgetting how to spell simple words?).
However, the cool thing about being an adult is that we have control over our own schedule.
So this Summer, remember to schedule in PLAY TIME.
Go the beach and play in the sand / water, create a sand castle
Do an arts and crafts workshop at home or at a studio
Go to the park and have a picnic, take some games, play tag, ride the swings
Schedule a board game night with your friends
Take a fun and weird workout class (I'm eyeing those bungee jumping classes)
Buy some fun floaties for your pool
Rent a bike by the beach
Go to a rollerblading rink
Trying an adult coloring book
Camp in your backyard
Make a fort and sleep in your living room
Go stargazing and wish upon a star
Go to the amusement park
Binge a childhood show while you think of nothing else
Get together with friends and recreate your favorite childhood drinks or snacks
Invite some friends over for a BBQ
Buy some bubbles
Create a music playlist of al your favorite throwback songs and play it every morning
Some of these you can do alone, with friends/family, even your kids!
Some of these you can combine (i.e. BBQ and board games). Get creative!
The idea is to just have FUN. What a concept, right?
CONNECT with people (or your inner child).
Commit to doing one every week or every other week for the entire Summer.
I triple doggy dare you 😝
p.s. I saw this quote on Instagram and thought it was funny:
