Comments on: It’s Labor Day — here’s how I did on the Summer Fun List https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/ Writer, Author, Speaker Mon, 03 Oct 2022 19:35:33 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Gretchen https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-405656 Mon, 03 Oct 2022 19:35:33 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-405656 Curious if the Wolf Sanctuary you are referring to is just north of Lititz, PA. Just wondering – it’s my home town!

]]> By: Natalie https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397734 Thu, 08 Sep 2022 11:06:40 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397734 Teenager as babysitter is the best parenting milestone! In the past 6 months, my husband and I have started doing a lot of Saturday lunch or afternoon happy hour dates while the kids stay home. It has been so nice to connect without the stress of finding additional childcare to make it happen. And when we do the daytime slot, we aren’t cramping the teen’s social calendar. I’m excited for you!!

]]> By: Katie https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397375 Wed, 07 Sep 2022 08:02:45 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397375 What a great summer!

We went strawberry picking this year (here in England) and also found the strawberries pretty dismal… I wonder if there’s been a global strawberry issue this year for some reason!

]]> By: BethC. https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397182 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 17:45:31 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397182 In reply to A.

@A-My old neighbor’s family are the founders of the custard stand 🙂

]]> By: A https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397157 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 15:56:41 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397157 In reply to BethC..

Beth, I grew up in South Jersey and your Maple Shade comment made me smile. I have many happy memories there :).

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397119 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 13:31:12 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397119 In reply to BethC..

@Beth C – this sounds like an amazing summer! Nice work on doing so many cool things even with being down for the count with Covid for as long as you guys were. I’m sure there are many wonderful memories. And more good moments than bad, even with the illness.

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-397117 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 13:29:03 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-397117 In reply to Petra.

@Petra- I do make winter and spring ones! I actually make two winter lists — a holiday focused one, and then a post holiday one. I didn’t start spring and winter until more recent years (whereas summer has been a staple since something like 2015?) but I do make them!

]]> By: Petra https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-396965 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 03:03:28 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-396965 Laura, is there a reason you make a Summer and Fall fun list and not a winter and spring one? Seems not fair to the other two seasons:)

]]> By: BethC. https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-396950 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 01:27:56 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-396950 Laura and Elisabeth-Your discussions about reframing and making the best of things really struck a chord with me. I try to come up with the quarterly fun lists when Laura posts about hers. I didn’t get around to preparing one this summer, which became the “summer of Covid” for my husband and me. We came home from an epic 6 and a half week trip visiting 6 baseball stadiums, 6 states and many museums/outdoor things without any health issues. A week after getting home in mid-June I contracted Covid and was down for the count for 3 weeks due to constant fatigue and some dizziness. My husband welcomed the unwelcome Covid visitor in early August and was wiped out for a couple of weeks. At first, I thought that our enforced isolation had put a real damper on our summer. Then I thought about the things that we HAD been able to do:
1. I managed to get to the beach 5 times, which was reasonably close to my goal of a biweekly visit. We also got to sit on the beach in Stone Harbor, NJ, and watch the 4th of July fireworks display over the ocean, which was (as always) magical.
2. We got to enjoy double ice cream scoops at our favorite Jersey Shore ice cream spot (Springer’s) two different times, and also got to two other local favorites (Evergreen Dairy Bar on Route 70 outside of Medford, NJ and Maple Shade Custard in Maple Shade, NJ).
3. We had to cancel plans to have a close college friend of mine and her husband visit during one of our Covid sieges, but we rescheduled for this past week and had 2 dinners out, a lunch out, and day trips to Cape May and Princeton.
4. We journeyed to Newburyport, Massachusetts so that my husband could have a reunion with college friends. While in the Boston area, we took in a Red Sox game and strolled Newbury Street in Boston. I also got to ride in one of the swan boats in the Boston Public Garden, which I have wanted to do ever since I read “Make Way for Ducklings” as a child. It’s a quick boat ride, but qualified as a nice “little adventure.”
5. We took a weekend trip to Vermont, stayed at a great bed and breakfast (the Rabbit Hill Inn), and took a pie and fruit tart baking class at King Arthur Flour in Norwich which was a lot of fun.
6. We got to see my stepson, his wife and their 2 great kids yesterday for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
7. We got together with local friends for dinner a couple of times, went to our next-door neighbor’s party with a great live band, and got to visit with a childhood friend of my son who was in from California. I also had an epic 3-hour catch-up dinner with an old friend after not seeing her during the pandemic.
8. We went to a Santana concert outdoors, and also went to a local park and enjoyed an evening jazz concert and a picnic dinner.
So even though my husband and I were isolated and in bed due to Covid for more than 20 days in the last 12 weeks, when I thought about it I realized that our summer had been pretty nice after all. I’m also incredibly thankful that the vaccines did their job, and that fatigue was our only major issue during our Covid bouts.

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2022/09/its-labor-day-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-396942 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 00:52:43 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=18729#comment-396942 In reply to Elisabeth.

@Elisabeth – that’s kids… what can you do? I aim to appreciate a few good moments and figure the rest is what it is. And yes, they fight all the time…:)

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