THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT MATTER

SWhen I was a kid, I remember that over the summer, we went to a public pool that had a separate diving pool, with all different levels of diving boards. The highest board seemed obscenely high and few people would ever attempt it. My dad was one of those people. We’d beg him to jump and usually by the end of our pool day, he’d make the trek up all those stairs and ladders, people looking up from their lounge chairs as they saw him ascending to the top. He was pretty heavy back then, but he had great diving form! His jump off the high board was always a proud “that’s my dad!” moment. He taught Mazzy to dive last year.

If you asked my kids what their favorite summer memory is, they’d probably say the time the ice cream truck man bought lemonade from their lemonade stand. That was an EPIC summer moment.



When you think back on your own childhood, what’s your favorite summer memory or family tradition? I asked this question in the Remarkably Average Parents facebook group and I have to say— not one mention of cruises, Disney World or exotic vacations. All the answers involved simple, easily attainable things.

Ready to feel nostalgic? These sweet summer moments are a good reminder that we don’t need to do anything elaborate to create lasting memories for our kids.

1) “Occasionally, after a super hot, sweaty, dirty day, my mum would give us a bath and then pack us into a wagon and go for a walk around the block. The clean feeling combined with the fresh air and my still wet hair is my most favorite feeling. I do it with my kids now. As an adult, I’ll have a shower, put on clean PJs and have a tea on our porch. It’s the best.” – Meagan

2) “We played wiffleball and badminton in the front yard all day long. We even made a permanent badminton court by marking the lines with powered laundry detergent. It killed the grass and lasted most of the summer.”

) “If it was too hot, I was allowed to watch Days of Our Lives with my Mom while helping her fold laundry

3) “If it was too hot, I was allowed to watch Days of Our Lives with my Mom while helping her fold laundry.” – Amanda

4) “One of my favorite memories was when we went camping and stayed in a screened shelter type bunkhouse. We went boating, fishing and hydro sliding. I remember my dad caught a few bass, while my mom, sisters and I caught an ice chest FULL of perch. But the most vivid memory from that trip was waking up in the middle of the night to my youngest sister SCREAMING because raccoons had gotten inside and were playing with her hair. Good times.”

4) “One of my favorite memories was when we went camping and stayed in a screened shelter type bunkhouse. We went boating, fishing and hydro sliding. I remember my dad caught a few bass, while my mom, sisters and I caught an ice chest FULL of perch. But the most vivid memory from that trip was waking up in the middle of the night to my youngest sister SCREAMING because raccoons had gotten inside and were playing with her hair. Good times.” – Jessica

5) “I loved going for long bike rides with my family and stopping at DQ for ice cream. Looking back, my funniest memory is the bike shorts and fanny pack my dad would wear while we went on them!”

6) “My brothers and I would set up a tent all summer and sleep in it most nights. We lived on seven acres, so setting it up way out back felt like a real adventure. We did it until my brother and I were juniors in high school too. It was fantastic and I miss it.”

7) “We had a short fence around our house, inside the property line to keep us away from the county roads when we were small. Years later, my mom got all the neighborhood kids at our house and challenged us to walk along the top of the fence from one post to the next. Then it became who could make it the farthest, and then all the way around! Coolest thing ever, and walking the fence became our favorite thing to do. I made it around all the way first BTW!”