Here’s what was on my list, and how it went! Mostly pretty good. It was a good summer. A little exhausting at times, but pretty good.

Go fruit picking. I wanted to get strawberries, peaches, and apples. I’m happy to report that in three rounds of fruit picking, all of this happened. Strawberries in June (they weren’t great though — not sure if it was the place or the weather), peaches in July (quite yummy even if Linvilla is sometimes a zoo), and then Honeycrisp apples at Indian Orchards. The last was a Labor Day weekend event — while people often think of apples as a fall fruit, my favorite varieties (Honeycrisp, Gala) actually ripen in late summer. I’ve missed out on them a few years so now I make sure to go early. We never made it to Maple Acres, which I mentioned in the original post. I like them, but their hours and fruit availability didn’t quite match up for us this summer.

Visit a farmers market. I went twice to our local Bryn Mawr Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday morning. We got some fun fruits and breads and various whimsical finds. This will definitely be a good thing to do any future summer Saturday mornings when we happen to be around.

Go tubing on a river. In July, I took two of my kids up to Easton to tube down the Delaware River. I enjoyed this, though I think they found it a little dull to float along a river for two hours. Oh well. I guess either I go tubing by myself next summer or I organize a big group to go (more people probably makes the floating more exciting).

Relax and enjoy our June family vacation. My goal was to have “at least a few truly enjoyable moments,” and that happened. I liked snorkeling along an underwater signed trail at one of St. John’s most famous beaches, and my husband and I had a great dinner at a secluded restaurant along the water. I also had fun night kayaking with my oldest kid.

Visit Ocean Grove, NJ. I did this three times — two day trips, including one this past weekend, and our week long vacation there in August. We hit most of the big places, including the Silverball Arcade and Days Ice Cream, where I enjoyed my frozen concoctions, even if they were made from oats. (I try not to think about that too much). New additions this year include brunch at Toast in Asbury, and getting lobster rolls from Cousins Maine Lobster, which has a location on the boardwalk in Asbury. I’m now obsessed with their blueberry soda. Hopefully we’ve got the house for 2 weeks next summer — fingers crossed! It is my happy place.

Do Mommy Days with the kids. I wrote that my 12-year-old mentioned camping. We did not do that, though he is going with his boy scout troop in two weeks. I managed to do five one-on-one excursions with five kids. I was not sure this was going to happen given the various childcare complications we had this summer but I set it as a goal for August and did it. The Mommy Days included NYC for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child + the World Trade Center Observatory (15-year-old), lobster from the food truck + Dave and Busters (12-year-old), Panera + a Mommy-and-Me spa visit (10-year-old), Chuck E. Cheese (7-year-old), and Sesame Place (2 year old). Phew!

See Mary Chapin Carpenter at Longwood Gardens. Yep – this was a lot of fun, and though the concert was delayed for rain, it wound up being a perfect night. I’ve been humming Halley Came to Jackson all week.

Do morning runs. I often run during the morning on weekends (such as this past weekend, when I did a 10 miler to prep for an upcoming half marathon…), but weekdays need to be a summer thing with the school schedule. I woke up early several weekday mornings this summer and went for runs before the rest of the house was stirring. It was great to get it done and I’m glad I made this happen. I’m not inspired to wake up at 5:30 to make it happen during the school year but I’m glad it happened in the summer!

Enjoy my new hammock. I’m off to go do that after I finish writing a draft of this… The pool (also mentioned in this item) is half-renovated. We went in a few times, though something went wrong again and it’s a little green at the moment…

Unpack. Not the whole house but I do want to give myself credit here. The teenager’s room got unpacked because my mother-in-law moved in there for three weeks. I got the guest room cleared out and bought a new mattress and bedding for it AND got the junk truck to come remove the old mattress. We also set up a futon in there so it’s great for visitors or sleep overs. Theoretically 4 people could sleep in there now. Alas, that was the signal for the two third floor bathrooms to start leaking and thus not be usable until they are renovated (they are the only bathrooms we didn’t renovate originally…of course…).

Plan something fun for Labor Day. I loved going to Maine at the end of last summer but I’m doing that for work soon! Plus we traveled a lot already this summer. So Labor Day weekend has been slightly more local. We did manage to have a good weekend though — with a day trip to the beach, and apple picking, and then my husband and I going out for an anniversary dinner with our 15-year-old serving as the babysitter. It was a moment — like we have finally arrived at that stage as parents…

There were a few other great memories that happened that weren’t on the original list!

Las Vegas. I went in late June to speak at a conference, and due to the timing of my two talks, I was there for three nights. It was a blast. I took advantage of the restaurants and shows and even went on the lazy river at my resort all by myself.

Dutch Wonderland. During a week of very limited childcare I took the kids to this little theme park as part of Camp Mommy. It wasn’t particularly grand, but my 2-year-old got to go on a kiddie roller coaster and he loved it so much. So we will probably go back this fall.

The Wolf Sanctuary of PA. I took my three older kids here last week. My 12-year-old had been supposed to go a few years ago. The trip got canceled and he had been sad about that at the time. So we said we would go back, but they were closed with Covid for quite a while, and then now have been selling out on tours fairly quickly. But I managed to snag a private tour for us when a date opened up. It was really cool seeing wolves up close, and listening to the howling. It did not make me think well of humanity, hearing the stories of how many wolves wound up in a rescue sanctuary, but the animals were amazing.

Recording the TBT In Real Life videos. I am so excited to show these soon! Recording for two days in various locations was an adventure and something I hadn’t done much before.

Massachusetts over the Fourth of July. I enjoyed fireworks and a small town Independence Day parade.

Biking with my husband. We went on a 10-mile bike ride together along the Schuylkill River Trail a few weeks ago and it was a different sort of date that was quite fun.

So that’s 2022! I’ll write a Fall Fun List soon, and am already thinking ahead to summer 2023…

Anyway, last week was not “typical” — with the 4th and associated travel, plus doing Mommy Camp. But as no week ever is, how did I do on the nine Tranquility by Tuesday rules?

Give yourself a bedtime. I did reasonably well here – I was in bed around 11 p.m. every night this week. Even though I didn’t need to wake up at 6:30 a.m. most mornings, the summer light often has me popping up at 5:30 a.m. or so. I go to the bathroom and then try to sleep again and usually succeed. We had one atrocious night with the 2-year-old while we were traveling but other than that it’s been pretty good. He, like most people, prefers to sleep in his own bed.

Plan on Fridays. Even though Friday was a disjointed day with a group dental appointment (my family can fill every chair in an office!) and waiting for the furniture (and going to Dave & Busters), I put planning on the list and did it. I find that life goes so much better when I do. As this week’s childcare set-up is still uncertain I needed to be absolutely sure what needed to happen.

Move by 3 p.m. Not perfectly. We spent all Tuesday morning in the car, so there wasn’t much movement by 3 p.m. that day. However, I did a few unorthodox workouts in the first half of the day during this week — on Monday I played some aerobic games of Ping Pong, on Thursday I did a ton of paddling to get our tubes out into the current, and on Sunday I ran laps with the 2-year-old and 10-year-old at the YMCA while the 7-year-old had basketball.

Three times a week is a habit. In general, I’ve been focusing on running, playing the piano (well, music in general), and eating family meals. I ran three times — all in the mornings. Two weekday short 30 minute runs before everyone was up and moving, and then 6 miles with Jane on Saturday. I only played the piano twice. We had several family dinners with the folks who were here, though they were kind of rough. I’m trying to enforce sitting in the chair, and eating at meal times with less snacking, and there’s a general rebellion underfoot that I am needing to quash. Good times.

Create a back-up slot. Because of the lack-of-childcare situation, I’ve been identifying different spots where I can do things. So I wound up doing my Before Breakfast script writing and recording on Saturday afternoon this week when my husband had the kids.

One big adventure, one little adventure. Plenty to choose from! Seeing the Fourth of July parade near the cousins’ house could be a little adventure, as could seeing the fireworks. Big adventure candidates include taking the kids to Dutch Wonderland, and tubing down the Delaware river. This is a nudge to me to figure out what to do this week, as it is looking a lot less adventurous.

Take one night for you. Choir is done for the summer, but I have been aiming to have some alone restorative time. Yesterday I read on the hammock for 20 minutes during nap time, and I also read a magazine in my bedroom alone when my husband got home from driving the 12-year-old to his sleep-away camp, because I had been on toddler all duty and was feeling a bit done with toddler duty. I even put on the white noise machine so I couldn’t hear anyone.

Batch the little things. Sadly, given that my work is pretty scattered, I’m having to do the little things when I can. I did pay all my business bills in one fell swoop on Friday, so I guess that’s batching. This week I need to fill out a rather intimidating form from my brokerage about my individual 401k – I can’t leave it to Friday since I don’t know for sure if I’ll have the time to do it then.

Effortful before effortless. I spent a lot of time scrolling around. However, I did read A Midsummer Nights Dream in my Shakespeare project, and precisely because it is one of my favorite plays, I found it fairly easy to pick that up when I had a few minutes, and so I read it quite quickly. I’m not feeling quite the same about Merchant of Venice, which is my next assignment.

How was your week? In the meantime, Tranquility by Tuesday will be published on October 11, which is precisely three months away. I’m getting excited!

(Side note: My pre-2016 blog photos look quite grainy…But there are definitely things that seem to be on the list each year!)

This will be our first summer in the new house. It’s also shaping up to be quite a full season, which is the reality of having 5 active kids who all have their own interests. Nonetheless, I’m sure there will still be downtime, as there always is. Several nights this week some of us spent time playing outside on the new play set, lounging on the hammock, watering plants, and so forth. We have a lot of camps, but much of August is camp-free so that might be the part of the summer where the children go feral.

Here’s what I’m planning this summer to make summer feel like summer to me:

Go fruit picking. I am just combining this as one entry. Strawberry picking always kicks off the season. Then it’s peach and blueberry picking in late July. Honeycrisp apples ripen in late August. For any other Philadelphia-area folks, we like Maple Acres Farm for strawberries and Weaver’s Orchard for the rest (other varieties of apples trend into fall, so that’s a different fun list!).

Visit a farmers’ market. We visit the farm stands at the orchards/farms we visit, but I’d like to check out a multi-vendor type place. Suggestions welcome! There’s a local one that happens on Saturdays that would be easy to try but I could go solo on a weekday somewhere more far flung.

Go tubing on a river. We did this for the first time last summer and it was a lot of fun!

Relax and enjoy our June family vacation. The hotel and flights are booked, but traveling with all of us can be an ordeal. My goal is to have at least a few truly enjoyable moments. How’s that for a low bar? I want my remembering self to be glad we did it AND to enjoy parts during the vacation itself.

Visit Ocean Grove, NJ. We’ll take our annual trip in August. I’ll run along the boardwalk, visit the beer garden, eat breakfast on the rental house’s big porch (same house as always), take the kids to the pinball arcade, and make nightly pilgrimages to Day’s Ice Cream. Sadly, I will probably be eating the non-dairy ice cream instead of the chocolate peanut butter ice cream I love but I am slowly making my peace with that.

Do Mommy Days with the kids. These one-on-one days doing something each child chooses have been requested and so I will do my best. The 12-year-old mentioned camping, so maybe he and I will be pitching a tent somewhere! (I’m wondering if the backyard counts…)

See Mary Chapin Carpenter at Longwood Gardens. Outdoor music in summer is always great. I have tickets for this. I’m also taking some of the kids to see a live taping of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me in Philly.

Do morning runs. The camp schedule starts later than the school schedule, so this could definitely happen. Maybe once a week or so? And maybe I could do some evening runs along the river too.

Enjoy my hammock. And balcony. The new house has a lot of ways to experience the outside. The pool is under renovation so that may or may not be part of the summer.

Unpack. So this isn’t necessarily fun, but I’m putting it on the list to hold myself accountable. I am going to take a few days this summer to make solid progress on getting rid of the remaining boxes. Most of the kids’ rooms are box free but the teenager’s room is not. I also need to get the guest room cleared out and set up (buy a mattress, etc.) so that can be used for overnight guests. I’ve been putting them in the 12-year-old’s room and kicking him out.

Plan something fun for Labor Day. Last year we went to Maine, which I loved, but I’ll be going to Maine the week after Labor Day for work, so I’ll get my fix then. Most likely we’ll do something else. But it’s nice to end the summer with one last hurrah.

What’s on your summer fun list? If you post on your own website, feel free to link!

But I am happy to report that, despite what you might hear in an upcoming podcast episode, this changed this weekend. My husband huddled down with his laptop on Saturday afternoon during my time with the toddler (we built and knocked down approximately 187 block towers). In a stroke of luck, something opened up at a place where we’d tried to book in the past, but it had always been sold out. Perhaps some other family who makes plans far in advance canceled? That would be ironic. But in any case, we scored a last minute reservation in a place that can fit us for what I consider a reasonable price. Plus, he used some of his millions* of United miles to get our plane tickets.

During the time my husband had the toddler I mostly worked on unpacking/decluttering the 7-year-old’s room (while half supervising a double playdate for the 12- and 10-year-olds but pre-teens don’t really need or want much supervision). I’m down to two plastic bins that need to be sorted, and his dresser contains clothes that fit him, and only him, so this is an improvement. Once I consider his room mostly done, I’ll move on to my daughter’s room and help her get rid of some stuff. Then the 14-year-old.

(Who is almost 15!! Oh my goodness.)

Now on to the TBT Scorecard. Some folks have asked and yes, there should be a printable type scorecard available when the Tranquility by Tuesday book comes out. I’ve found it’s easy to rate myself on the TBT rules because I track my time. I can just print out my time log and see where the time went. Yet another reason to track time if you don’t already.

Bedtime: Pretty much a 100%. I was in my bed by 11 p.m. every night this week, though I didn’t turn off the lights until 11:15 on Friday and Saturday nights. Since I didn’t need to wake up until 7:30 both of the next mornings, I allowed for an extra 15 minutes of scrolling (yep). Unfortunately, I did spend the week working off a sleep debt from Tuesday night when I was up from a little after midnight until 2 a.m. with the toddler. So no bounding out of bed at 6:30 a.m. on the weekends.

I planned on Fridays as always. I did some physical activity (walk or run) before 3 p.m. all seven days.

For my “three times a week is a habit” rule, I’ve been focusing on a few activities. I want to run at least three times, play the piano at least three times, sing three times, and have three family meals. This week went pretty well on those fronts. I ran four times (M, W, F, Sun). I practiced piano for at least 15-20 minutes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — an enterprise aided by ordering a new book of Bach inventions (I can’t find my old one; see unpacking/decluttering above). We ate dinner together as a family five out of the seven nights. That’s going to be a high-water mark for the next few weeks. I sang twice — choir practice on Thursday and then Sunday morning. My goal this week is to build in another singing practice session.

I always leave Friday pretty open, so that was my back-up slot (Rule #5). While I didn’t have any huge adventures this week, I did do a few medium sized ones. On Thursday I went to Chanticleer, a “pleasure garden” designed by Thomas Sears that’s about 20 minutes from my house. It was absolutely beautiful in full May bloom. I also did “train with Mom” for karate class for two children on Saturday morning. The children learned that Mom has the ability to punch and kick bags quite hard. I also worked out at the YMCA weight room for the first time since the pandemic. All of those things were memorable and out of the ordinary.

(Mom has been realizing that her core strength took a hit with baby #5 and the subsequent weakness is resulting in lower back pain and IT band issues. This is a definite goal to build back up.)

Choir practice on Thursday ensures I “take one night for you” (Rule 7). I “batched the little things” on Friday with my Friday punch list: paying bills, buying odds and ends, etc. The “effortful before effortless” quest is ongoing, though I realized that in the morning if I have time in between kid breakfasts/needs, I can do some of my Shakespeare reading for that project. This morning I read a few of his sonnets. I also read a magazine on Friday night while I had some down time instead of scrolling. I haven’t done any puzzles since moving into the new house, but maybe I’ll start. I did do a few post-dinner walks to clear my head and get in the headspace for bedtime.

Now this reminds me that I need to think through some adventures for this week. I don’t really have anything planned!

*Not kidding, though this number has been in a holding pattern the last two years. I am worried that is about to change…

Photo: Sunset walk in the woods