How do you make summer last a little longer?

School will be done for my kids and husband (who is a teacher) by the time most of you read this. Summer is here now, even though we didn’t seem to have much of a spring. 

Now the soil temperature is high enough that the corn is just about bursting up, and I am starting to venture out barefooted from time to time. The lilacs in our valley are finally blooming, and my favorite, the peonies, are starting to show signs that they are serious about blooming soon. 

I will soon be able to spend every evening in my yard with a fire in the fire pit, drinking margaritas while the tiki torches are all lit up. I will be reading great literature and laughing with my friends. Oh, wait, that’s right. Reality is what I need to deal with. Oops, I almost forgot for a minute. 

I find it hard to find that balance, especially in the summertime, of living life to the fullest and getting so busy that you feel burdened by all that needs to be done. 

I am quickly realizing that even though school will be out by the time you are reading this, my kids have 4-H dog lessons one night of the week, we have karate twice a week, our daughter has 4-H horse lessons another night; oh, and have I mentioned the once or twice a week little league practice and games? 

Gas is really expensive, so I want to drive as little as possible, so the thought of all this traveling not only makes me feel a little exhausted, but also a little poorer. My husband gets a little stir crazy if he has to be home for too long so it would be logical to let him do the running, but some days those practices, and the drives to and from them, are the only time we get to spend together as a family. 

I remember reading somewhere about how when you’re a kid the summertime is a special place where a day is the equivalent of a ripe plum and a week seemed as huge as a watermelon. 

Now as adults, it seems that a little of the magic is gone. We often get so hung up on what we need to do next and the upcoming big events on the calendar that we forget to enjoy today. 

Maybe if I fly a kite or buy myself some flip flops it will be better. Maybe I need to get a hammock, or actually sit in my lawn chairs more than once a week. Actually I think what will help me most is allowing myself to slow down a little once in a while. 

This summer my family will camp. We will splash. We will go to the fair and have friends over. We will do things together as a family. We won’t be travelling far from home, but I am willing to bet we can have some fun around these parts too. 

The kids are making plans to improve tree forts and maybe we can scrape together enough money to put up some type of zip line up in the woods. The kids want to have our annual kid summer party complete with egg tosses and squirt guns. 

I am in school all day, every day through the end of June finishing up my massage therapy program, but July should just be sitting there waiting for me like a big ripe summer peach, waiting to be enjoyed, right?

I guess where I am going with all this rambling is I know you dairy producers have even more to do each day than me and my family, but please remember to occasionally watch the fireflies, have a glass of lemonade with your spouse and throw the ball around with your kids or grandkids. Take a little time to play, and you will find yourself smiling about it while you do your work. 

We don’t remember years, weeks, days or even hours. We remember moments. It only takes a few moments to make the memory for you and a loved one of a grand old time in the summer. Go play a little!

Kelli Boylen is a former full-time Dairy Star staff member who is now a regular freelance writer for the paper. She grew up on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin and now lives in Northeast Iowa with her husband and two children. Kelli also writes a blog at www.goodblogs.com/bloggers/21.