An Imperfect Summer

On my blog calendar today I was supposed to write “20 Free Family Activities to Do This Summer” or something like that. To be honest these have been our family activities of late:

• Taking naps
• Going on walks
• Sitting on the patio while Layla runs around the yard
• Eating dinner
• Going to the beach at our lake
• Going to the splashpad at camp
• Walking to the playground
• Watching movies together
• Reading books

And that’s about it. We haven’t visited the library, been to a festival, gone geocaching, hiked a state park, explored downtown, visited a museum or anything that literally wasn’t outside our neighborhood.

I guess that’s what is nice about a toddler. She really doesn’t care if she’s playing dolls at home or visiting the children’s section of a museum. She actually probably likes her backyard better than a fancy park.

And guess what my workouts have been? Cool things? Fancy classes? Uh, no. (Well besides that trip to Chicago for a 5K) I run around my neighborhood and lift dumbbells at our camp gym. And go on walks with Layla. Mindblowing stuff here, folks.

But it’s the little choices that add up over time.

Being present with my husband, not sucked into my phone.

Splashing in the lake with my baby girl.

Going to the gym when I’d rather be chilling on the couch.

One foot  in front of the other on all the runs.

When you think about it the defining moments of our lives are the little ones. It’s the ordinary that is so extraordinarily beautiful. And if we are always looking for the next big moment or wrapped up in how perfect everyone else’s instagram feed is we will miss it.

And I don’t want to miss it.

So here’s to an imperfect summer.