Day 43: Hot boy summer
Are you a busy parent trying to figure out how to juggle it all this summer? I was talking to another business owner yesterday about balancing the need to work and having the kids home for the summer. Ultimately, her and her husband are going to trade off being around for the kids. We’ve done that in the past and that didn’t work very well for us.
If you are fortunate enough to work from home and the kids are home I have found it to be a losing battle. You have to focus more on work which means the kids aren’t getting attention so they are snacking and getting too much screen time. However, daycare and summer programming is expensive! Last year we sent the boys to the school district’s program. If I remember correctly, it was $800-$1000 per week and the boys hated it. This year we decided to hire a nanny, which I understand there is a lot of privilege that goes with hiring a nanny and you would be surprised it’s pretty comparable to sending the kids to a summer program.
Since I work from home, today was new because I was working remotely from a coffee shop. My favorite coffee shop closes at 2 pm on Monday. So I left the coffee shop and then grabbed lunch and went to the pool store and then hit another coffee shop to round out my day. I’m creating a new summer routine which is exciting and a little uncomfortable at the same time. I also started 75 Hard today, which is not new. My first time I started it the day after the 4th of July 2022 and wrapped it up on September 17, 2022 a day before Brooks' 9th Birthday. It helped create a lot of discipline around working out, water intake, nutrition, and reading.
Minnesota summers are the best time to do 75 Hard because it helps you make the most out of the long days and hot weather. It was so nice listening to the One You Feed Podcast yesterday walking around the park. I highly recommend checking out the June 6, 2023 episode “The Search for Meaningful Work with Bruce Feiler”. Today I also tried a sparkling bousted strawberry mango drink from Caribou, which was the second coffee shop I hit. It is “bousted” with caffeine from coffee plus guarana and ginseng. I would be curious to know if you have ever had one. I didn’t really dig it, but at least I can say I tried it.
The boys are living their best life. Mason hit 2 or 3 parks yesterday while Brooks was at his chemistry class where he made ice cream. After that, they went bowling because the local bowling center offers kids 2 free games per day with purchase of the shoes. They also got to play outside and Mason got to ride his new bike and he started soccer last night. It was a very busy and full day. They were tuckered last night. Here’s to summer! I hope you have a great one!
