Summer Bucket List In Review

August has arrived, and with it comes the days that I remember I have a real job and so I am in full preparation mode for the coming school year. I have just one week left before heading back for teacher’s meetings and two before welcoming my students for another year of adventure. If all things go according to plan, there will be only six more summers like this before retirement!!

In some ways, the summer has seemed to stretch forever. I spent many days feeling a bit lonely with no human interaction. I despise the summer heat, and spent many days, curled up on the couch trying to avoid the feeling that I live on the sun. I also really struggle with feeling like I have no purpose during the summer. If no one needs me to do anything, why am I here? (I can go to full Existential Crisis Barbie mode!)

In other ways, it seems like summer just started. We kept busy all summer, traveling to Ohio, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Atlanta. I did a bit of professional development here and there. I got to spend time with family and friends who live far away. Plus, I had my Summer Bucket List of things to accomplish! When I made the list, I didn’t expect that I would accomplish ALL of the things… and I didn’t. But, I’m pretty pleased with the things I did. Here’s a little wrap up of the list…

Plant and cultivate an herb garden: To be honest, I didn’t do any research to plan this garden. I bought a planter box from Amazon, bought seeds and dirt from Walmart, put it all together, and crossed my fingers that something would grow. (Yes, I know I SHOULD research what would grow best where, but…) I planted Basil, Thai Basil, Cilantro, Lavender, Oregano, Rosemary, Mint, and Thyme. The cilantro took off like crazy right away, which was exciting since we use it often. Both of the basil varieties did really well too. I was excited to use it in a homemade pasta sauce. Nothing else really took off well from seed. I did buy a small thyme, mint, and rosemary plant at Trader Joes and planted them. After they were planted, they really thrived! Sadly, the lavender and oregano are just piles of dirt. It’s pretty cool to just open the back door, snip off some fresh herbs, and incorporate them into my dinner. Farmer Jenn is fantastic!

Learn to embroider: Honestly, I am surprised and proud of how well this new skill turned out. I purchased a kit from Julia’s Broderie on Etsy to get started. The kit taught the basic steps through a series of online tutorials and included all I needed for three beautiful floral projects. I had a lot of fun learning the different stitches! By the end of the Stitch Garden project, I felt confident to try some other projects. I really enjoy making roses with the Woven Wheel stitch and like doing French Knots. I made a succulent garden print for my classroom and am working on a project for my mom’s birthday. I think I will try a few things for Christmas too.

Read 20 books: This one was an easy accomplishment. I LOVE to read, and given time to just sit and savor a book, I was able to work my way through 21. I made sure to rotate between genres and reading levels to keep things interesting. My absolute favorites were both YA Fiction: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza-Villa.

Watch Anne of Green Gables: This truly was like a visit with old friends. Watching the movies felt cozy and familiar. I didn’t mind that the DVD was super grainy on my 70″ TV, nor that I could basically quote the whole thing. I embraced the nostalgia of it all, made a cup of autumn tea, donned my Green Gables sweatshirt, cranked up the air, and sat down to enjoy being in a happy place full of wonder, imagination, and love.

Host a Retro-Tiki Party: Sooooo… I’m gonna say I cheated a bit on this one. While I wanted to have a swanky backyard affair, complete with tiki torches, cocktails, snacks, and music on the record player, I was presented with a dilemma. I don’t really have friends to invite to said backyard affair. (Waa waa!) However, this failure was averted when we visited Trader Vic’s with friends on our trip to Atlanta. Trader Vic’s is a tiki bar (who invented the Mai Tai) with a cool vintage feel and a delicious Polynesian menu. We had a wonderful time celebrating together! It definitely gave me the vintage tiki vibes I was looking for.

Journal and plan: I bought both a new Teacher Planner and Life Planner at the end of the school year. Color coding, planning, and using stickers brings me great joy. While I am not perfectly in the habit of using them again, I’ve gotten started. I know it will be easier to maintain during the school year when I have a little more direction with my time. The journaling has gone ok, but I still want to use it as a tool for my mental health more often than I have.

Read through Psalms and Proverbs: I STARTED this… but I was not great about continuing. Honestly, I think it’s because I dislike the way my lack of artistic skill distracts from how aesthetic the journaling Bible could be. I know that sounds selfish and I need to get over it. I plan to continue reading and working on it in the days to come.

Repaint the kitchen and cabinets: Complete and utter failure… I didn’t even attempt it. To be fair, I really HATE painting. Maybe a magic fairy will do it for me?

All in all, I think it was a pretty successful summer. I may not have done ALL the things, but that just leaves room to keep going and growing, right? I’m ready to get back to school and feel like I am making a difference. Every school year is a new adventure, and I know that I have some wonderful students along with me for the ride. Plus, there’s only 138 days till Christmas break!