I must admit, Summer is not my favorite season. I don’t know if I became this way due to marrying a man who would rather vacation in Alaska in February than head to the beach any time of year or if pregnancy in the summertime pretty much ruined my taste for the heat. No matter the reason, from the moment the temps head over 90, our family is ready to lay around the house drinking lemonade and panting like dogs while we dream of vacationing in the mountains.
Unlike many American families, summer around here is a time when we slow down. Sure, we have our fair share of Boy Scout Camps and horse riding lessons and such, but we do not run a break-neck pace through the summer. We sort of simmer through summer. Slow-cook, if you will.
Here are a few more facts about my slow summer style…
*I like to get up earlier in the summer – Back when Ty was deployed, I would get up early on those summer mornings and read my Bible and watch the sun come up on my front porch before my two little ones would rise for the day. Those are precious memories for me. Since early morning is the only time of day that is not hot in the summer months (for the most part), I like to drink it in!
*I keep my little ones out of the sun – We typically do not head outside for the day until after 5pm. We do occasionally go out in the morning (especially to do school), but for the most part, we stay out of the direct sunlight. I have fair-haired, fair-skinned babies, so no sun-bathing here.
*Meals become what I like to call Amish Lunch. In my early married years, I read a syndicated newspaper column called The Amish Cook. She would write about what they had for meals and I was struck by how often lunch would consist of assorted garden produce (some pickled, some not), cheese, bread, jams and butter. In the summer months I adopt this Amish Lunch with our own flair! We’ll often be found snacking on cheese and crackers, carrot sticks and pickles. We’ll eat tortillas rolled up with whatever I can find in the refrigerator or crackers and dip. Cold, practical and so-not-fancy!
*We school year round. It just makes sense for our family since our major vacation of the year is not in the summer months (off-season is a beautiful thing for a large family!) and I never know when the next baby might be joining our family or we might need to loan a big kid out to a grandparent.
*Running through the sprinklers beat public swimming pools any day. Public swimming pools and beaches can be a nightmare for a large family with more littles than bigs. (Not to mention the rather scantily-clad young ladies you see there), so we prefer to stick close to home and play in the sprinklers. We also have a hot tub at our new house that has the ability to be a “cool” tub in the summer, so we turn it down and use it as a pool of sorts.
*I like my skirts and sandals in the summer. There is just something lovely about a long-flowing skirt and a cute pair of sandals in the summertime. I feel as if I’ve stepped out of a painting of ladies walking in a flower garden in England.
*I’m slow-paced by nature. I am naturally a Mary, not a Martha. I’m pretty laid back and would rather have a long conversation than clean a kitchen any day. Since I know this about myself, I have learned to clean first so I can be a Mary without detriment to my home all summer long.
So, what kind of Summer Mother are you? Slow-paced or super-busy? I’d love to hear about what makes your summer tick!
Christine says
Love this post Amy, especially your suggestion of the Amish lunch idea. That sounds so relaxed and rewarding for mom (who’s used to cooking and prepping for everyone everyday). 🙂
Amy says
It is VERY rewarding! Just be sure to have those sorts of “finger foods” on hand…the kids love it! 🙂
Miranda says
I definitely have a summer slow-down! I’m Scottish by heritage – my husband says I have anti-freeze in my blood – so I really don’t do heat very well. Growing up I remember the front door of the house was frequently propped open as well as the patio doors to create a better through-draught while we gathered round electric fans, and no one was allowed outside during the hottest part of the day. Your ‘Amish Lunch’ sounds very much like one of my mum’s mainstay summer dinners, known as ‘Funky Salad’ – bread, cheese, salad leaves, coleslaw, cold meats, hard boiled eggs, veggies and dip and so on.
I’m a starting-out mum, but bubba’s inherited my super-fair skin and tendency to overheat easily, so I expect our summers as a family will be following my established pattern of hiding from the worst of the heat and eating a lot of fruit, frequently straight out of the freezer!
Amy says
Yes! My daughter ate peas from the freezer yesterday and she does it all the time with fruit! lol
Chantal says
That is exactly like our summer! I know people who have lists of things they want to do this summer, but I have just a few things on our plate: tending the garden, letting the kids be kids, and daily worship. No scheduled activity can beat the imagination of my 3 year olds play time! 🙂
Karyn says
I looooove summer! But we’re in the mountains of North Carolina, so it stays pretty cool. We do a little bit of review schoolwork every day just for retention and I also like to work on anything I feel like we didn’t spend enough time on during the year; this summer we’ll do some neat art projects as I feel like art got short-shrift. We have some summer camps thrown in, a vacation to in-laws, and lots of play at the rivers, creeks, and in the backyard. My cooking and cleaning stays pretty much the same, except the kids eat lunch outside, which I love. I’m so looking forward to the official end of our school year and the official beginning of summer!
Anita Harkness says
Hi Amy & ladies,
I’ve been following your blog for quite a while now but this is only my second time commenting. First thank you do much for your blog! Allowing God to determine our family size, homeschooling our children and being “just” a stay at home mom isn’t easy when no one else around is like mind. You have been a source of encouragement for me. :).
So about summer… This is our first summer of year round schooling. We we be taking it a bit easier and making sure we have a library day so we can be in the summer reading program. Because our backyard is completely shaded most of our days will be spent outside. I especially live to eat outside. It’s fun for the kids and less cleanup for me!
Amy says
Yes! My kids are always asking to eat outside during the summer. 🙂
Tara says
I find it is nicer to try to get warm than cool off. I can only take off so many layers, but I can keep putting them on! I love all the posts on your link up. So much food for thought!
Amy says
Amen!
Rana says
Amy, your post made me smile. You remind me of myself. I love to have a slow rhythm for summer. We stay close to home, except for a couple of camping trips and our big family trip.
I just like to spend time out in the backyard, reading, planting and having some of my kiddos friends over to splash on the slip n slide.
Rachel @ finding joy says
Ah, Amy, I love your heart. Really, my friend. This is truly my heart regarding summer. Our sprinkler? Almost always going – besides cooling the kiddos it helps to keep the grass green.
Love your suggestions.
Rachel
kelli- AdventurezInChildRearing says
Mrs Amy- we have a lot in common- except that I actually live at the beach 🙂 we do a lot of swimming this time of year and you’ll find us in the water or the AC – but the rest – skirts and flops (year-round attire for me) slow days (actually usually also year-round for the most part) and schooling 🙂 summer mothering is kind of what I do all the time!
Amy says
Yeah, I’m kind of a slow mothering kind of gal all year long too. 😉
Lisa Suit says
I am a cold weather girl. I grew up in Pennsylvania (and have since moved back) and then moved to an area in MD that gets more snow than just about anywhere except probably Colorado, and although I do like spring days I do NOT like 80-100 degree weather whatsoever!! My husband is Hawaiian and the exact opposite, lol so we try to find a good balance. Our two year old loves to be outside 24/7 weather it’s a blizzard or the hottest day of the year, but I am due with our second daughter on July 3, so we are definitely doing a slow summer this year-staying inside as much as possible and trying not to get too overly hot!! Oh, and by the way, I LOVE The Amish Cook, I read the column online every week and I have all of her cookbooks 🙂 Small world!
Amy says
Oh wow! I don’t own any of her cookbooks, but have always loved her column! My mom will still clip them from time to time for me. 🙂
Lisa Suit says
My Grandparents were both Amish and then my mom was raised Mennonite, so I eat stuff like that up! 🙂
Tracy says
I also love your summer lunch ideas, that will be a must in our house this summer. We are summer people, my husband grew up in Florida and soon we will be headed their for good. We slow way down in the summer we do rush or schedule too much. We taka a late summer vacation when most people are back in school, We dont do a full school load in the summer but we do love Unit Studies in the summer. We try to one month and also lapbook over the summer months. We have a great backyard pool and our home becomes a place where most friends and family hang out, and we love that. We are faird haired and green/blue eyes so lots of sunscreen,sunshirts and sunhats in our home. Love you post so mush always uplifting to hear what your family is doing.
Jillian says
Amy, you pretty much summed up how we do summer. Except that we live in a state where we can’t school year round. : ( We live about 15 min from the beach and even closer to the bay, so sometimes after dinner we head there. You don’t see much immodesty because sun bathers are pretty much done for the day and sometimes we’re the only ones there! Swimming lessons over the summer is the only planned activity the kids do, and the only time they go in a pool. I agree with you about it being madness for a large family.
Judy @ Contented at Home says
Love, love, love the “Amish lunch” idea!
Lisa says
Love this post! I can just see your family calmly enjoying the relaxing summer months! Sounds great to me, as I relate to your mindset on summer!
Would you consider ever doing a post all about your new house? It sounds like your family is really enjoying living there. It would be fun to see what it looks like, and what your yard is like. Thank you so much for sharing the in’s and out’s of life and your heart along the way!
Amy says
I keep meaning to do this, but life just keeps happening! lol
Lara Freeman says
I could have written this post. lol Summer is my least favorite season as well. We live in TX and it starts getting hot in April. Fortunately this year, it’s been a bit milder, because last year I was 8 months pregnant and we were rapidly approaching triple digits at the end of April and the air conditioner was down. That was not fun.
We also homeschool year round. It’s too hot here to be running around outside all day. We live in a small town and in our neighborhood there are few kids, and those that are around do not play outside during the day either. My husband works away from home and is only home on days off, so we take off when he’s home. This means we also homeschool his work schedule that includes weekends at times. It works great, and we love being able to take “bad weather” days on nice spring and fall days. 🙂
Amy says
LOL about the “bad weather” days!
Kevin Williams says
Thanks for reading the Amish Cook earlier in your married years, hopefully you still read it!:) – Kevin Williams, Amish Cook Editor…
Amy says
My mom clips them and sends them to me. 😉 Thanks for stopping by, Kevin. Keep up the good work!
Rebecca says
My girls and I live for summer! We do school (just not as hard-hitting) through the summer but we slow down…no extracurricular things, no sports, nothing special for the summer. We grill out more, eat out of the garden a lot, do a lot of chilled lunches (I actually have a category in my recipe box entitled “Cool Summer Eats”). We live in the south and IT is hot and humid but we have a pool and a nice shady yard so we are all good :). My husband is of your mind-set….summer is his least favorite time of the year and he loves cooler/cold weather. He works outside at least 10 hours per day in the heat so I do understand. Also just got through reading your post about top 10 homeschooling sites and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am going to have to figure out Paper Back Swap!! Looks like a great idea, where am I going to find the time to do it?