Every Summer, the same thing happens: I make all kinds of plans(see below post) to make the Summer last and then I blink and it's August. Aaron and I have been discussing ways to mark our days and be a little more mindful of the passage of time. Jack really loved doing our
Jesse tree during Advent, and I wanted something similar; a little ritual we could do every day to make us a little more present. So I came up with this:
Using some thumbtacks, twine, and the cutest tiny clothespins you've ever seen, we made a flexible display. At the end of each day, Jack and I choose a picture from that day, print it out, date it, and add it to our growing collection. Somehow I didn't take any pictures on June 1st, but I decided we'd press on anyway and focus on
doing rather than doing
perfectly.
Jack cuts out the pictures after we print them and glues them onto a backing I cut out for him.
I used my stash of scrapbook paper I've been hoarding like a miser(saving it for what, exactly?) and cut out some letters for the top of our display. We put it up on the dining wall, which has always been kind of bare and sad. It our photo project goes well, we might do it all year long. I thought about using poster board for individual months or even picture frames, but I wanted it to be easy to change if we got something out of order. And, it was very cost-effective. I found the twine in a closet when we moved in, the paper I already had(and bought on sale anyway), and the thumbtacks and clothespins were about $8.
I think my favorite part might be the tiny clothespins. I got them at Michael's. I'm just using our printer and regular paper to print the pictures because it makes them immediately available, but I think once a month I'll order copies from Costco and put them in an album. So much has already happened, and I have a feeling this year is going to be a significant chapter in our lives.
I know what you're thinking: Summer has not, in fact, technically begun yet. True. But June 21st seems awfully late to start the summer because very quickly it becomes July, and mentally I feel like July is the middle of Summer. So Summer starts and then two weeks later it's half-way over. At least, that's how it feels to me, so I decided to start our Summer calendar early. It helps that we've been having 80 degree days and enjoying perfect watermelon. Matteas already has a killer tan and is getting blonder by the day. Our garden is flourishing. We spend whole days outside, making quick meals and eating on our picnic blanket in the shade. We fill up the kiddie pool everyday, and after a day of splashing the boys get their watering cans and use their pool water for the vegetable garden or making mud pies. I expect that by the end of Summer, Fall will still take me by surprise just like it does every year, but my dining room wall will be proof that Summer
did actually happen.
Using some thumbtacks, twine, and the cutest tiny clothespins you've ever seen, we made a flexible display. At the end of each day, Jack and I choose a picture from that day, print it out, date it, and add it to our growing collection. Somehow I didn't take any pictures on June 1st, but I decided we'd press on anyway and focus on doing rather than doing perfectly.
Jack cuts out the pictures after we print them and glues them onto a backing I cut out for him.
I used my stash of scrapbook paper I've been hoarding like a miser(saving it for what, exactly?) and cut out some letters for the top of our display. We put it up on the dining wall, which has always been kind of bare and sad. It our photo project goes well, we might do it all year long. I thought about using poster board for individual months or even picture frames, but I wanted it to be easy to change if we got something out of order. And, it was very cost-effective. I found the twine in a closet when we moved in, the paper I already had(and bought on sale anyway), and the thumbtacks and clothespins were about $8.
I think my favorite part might be the tiny clothespins. I got them at Michael's. I'm just using our printer and regular paper to print the pictures because it makes them immediately available, but I think once a month I'll order copies from Costco and put them in an album. So much has already happened, and I have a feeling this year is going to be a significant chapter in our lives.
I know what you're thinking: Summer has not, in fact, technically begun yet. True. But June 21st seems awfully late to start the summer because very quickly it becomes July, and mentally I feel like July is the middle of Summer. So Summer starts and then two weeks later it's half-way over. At least, that's how it feels to me, so I decided to start our Summer calendar early. It helps that we've been having 80 degree days and enjoying perfect watermelon. Matteas already has a killer tan and is getting blonder by the day. Our garden is flourishing. We spend whole days outside, making quick meals and eating on our picnic blanket in the shade. We fill up the kiddie pool everyday, and after a day of splashing the boys get their watering cans and use their pool water for the vegetable garden or making mud pies. I expect that by the end of Summer, Fall will still take me by surprise just like it does every year, but my dining room wall will be proof that Summer did actually happen.
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