If summer is June-July-August, then we are officially at the midpoint. That’s not true for school summer vacation (my kids ended 6/17, and they have more than a month before they start again) but hey. I think it’s time for a midsummer update on my official 2025 Summer Fun List. How are things going?
I’ll give myself a gold star for getting the “have-to-dos” crossed off. My 18-year-old has a new Real ID driver’s license. My 15-year-old and 10-year-old actually got their new passports in the mail this week. This is some kind of speed record as our appointments were July 5 and we got the passports on July 14. Yes, I paid to expedite, but still. I’ll take it!
As for the fun stuff, here’s how I’m doing:
Go to a live concert. This was already done when I created the list. My husband and I went to see George Strait (and Chris Stapleton) back in mid-May.
Go to a Phillies game. Yep! I went with my family and SHU’s family to Citizens Bank Park on July 4th. This was a lot of fun except for the fact that the Phillies lost. I don’t know that it’s going to work to go to another game this year but I totally would!
Celebrate the almost 18-year-old’s birthday. He did indeed turn 18, and we celebrated. My husband and I took him to Peak at Hudson Yards for his birthday, then walked on the High Line afterwards.
Go on the choir tour. This was definitely my big summer adventure! The 18-year-old and I spent 10 days in France with our church choir in June, visiting Aix-en-Provence, Toulouse, Tours, and Paris. I noted in my summer fun list write-up that I didn’t think I would stay out until 5 a.m. clubbing like I did on my last choir tour (to Brazil in early 2001) but one of us did indeed do something along those lines. I’ll let you guess which one of us. There were also stops at Carcassonne, Chateau de Chambord, Versailles, and the Louvre.
Host. I hosted the choir picnic in early June. Then we hosted a high school theater club gathering that turned out to be a bit larger than I anticipated but the kids seemed to (mostly) behave themselves. We also hosted an event for summer associates in my husband’s office last weekend. That was pretty easy as recruiting was in charge of managing the event, and they brought in caterers, and I didn’t really have to do that much. A thought for future parties!
Go bike riding. This past weekend my husband and I went biking with two of our kids, which I enjoyed. I also decided to celebrate some uber productivity yesterday (got through the day’s to-do list by 1:30 p.m.!) by going for a solo bike ride on the Schuylkill River Trail. It was beautiful. I definitely hope to do more of this over the next few weeks.
Write something creative. I’m mostly deep in book edits right now (for Big Time, out in May 2026). I will then write The Golden Hours (out in 2027). I’m thinking maybe my summer sonnets — I wrote a series of four on golden hours themes — will count as my seasonal creativity. I would like to write a novel again at some point. I should not push this forward indefinitely, so we shall see. Maybe I can collaborate with someone.
Add to my miniature collection. The shipment of farmhouse style bathroom furniture did finally arrive from Australia! Making this list also nudged me to purchase some accessories for it yesterday, and those should arrive in a week or so. I attended a virtual seminar on the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago in June and am, in general, trying to get more into the miniature world. If you’re going to have a hobby, it’s fun to get really into it.
Swim solo. I’ve done this twice, and it’s great. On the list to do again!
Go to a beer garden. This is in the works — or at least something very similar — though it hasn’t happened yet. On the other hand, there was a lot of eating and drinking outside in France with all the sidewalk tables at restaurants. So there’s been an approximation.
Do all the beach things. Not yet! We haven’t been to the beach at all, probably because it will happen a lot next month. Our annual beach trip is in August. This is reminding me to make a list of the things I want to do there. The more years we go the more things get added to the list of traditions.
Launch the oldest. We went to orientation last week, so it’s starting to feel more real for sure. Move-in is going to require some serious logistical coordination as I believe we get like an hour-long window to park outside the building. And we have not been told what that hour is yet! It should be the last week of August, though (which is, of course, when my husband is traveling with our second oldest, so there will be even more coordination). But hey, at least I have some sense of when it will be…
Photo: Not my tomatoes, sadly. I took this picture at a farmer’s market.
You are doing great on your summer list! I didn’t make a summer fun list but I did a 25 in 25 and I’m doing pretty well so far. A lot of items are back-loaded into the 2nd half of the year like going to The Grinch, going to a pumpkin event, running a 10k, etc. But I’ve crossed a good amount of things off. I haven’t scheduled a single game night with friends and I wanted to do 2-3 so I need to get on the ball, but dang it is hard to plan with other families… I might have been overly ambition and should have aimed for 1 game night!
@Lisa- scheduling with other people is tough! I totally get it. But I bet one could happen…