5 Tiny Summer Traditions
- Cara McLauchlan
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Recently I was thinking about all my favorite summer things.
Not "big things" like heading to the beach for a week, spending a day hiking or planting a vegetable and herb garden. In other words, the little rhythms you enjoy most in the summer that you might not enjoy at any other time of the year.
Tiny traditions are the things that only you or your family would appreciate - whether they are goofy or simple. But what I love about them is usually they don't cost much and are only about noticing what you love.
Wherever you land, here are a few tiny summer traditions that we've been enjoying around our place.
Picking a summer movie theme.
I love this one so much. One summer we watched every baseball movie there was. Another time we watched every sports themed movie. This summer, I would call it the "save the world" summer with watching Project Hail Mary, Knight and Day and Moon Fall. I realize some of these are old movies, but you get the idea.
Corn, tomato and peach hoarding, I mean savoring.
Come summer, I am a Farmers Market junkie nd bee line it to the corn, tomato and peaches to load up. Whether I need more corn, tomatos and peaches is besides the point, what I can't eat, I freeze. Mid summer my husband said, "we sure have been eating a lot of corn." With which my immediate reply was, "your welcome." I love to become part fruit and veg in the summer and freeze all the glorious bounty to enjoy in January too.
Sports love.
There are so many sports to love this summer: World Cup, Wimbeldon, MLB Home Run Derby, and The Open for golf. We also love to take in our small town baseball games here - watching the young college kids play for the love of the game is pure joy. But the sweetest way to end the summer is watching the Little League World Series, the last week in August. These sweet teams from all over the world steal my heart every summer. In full authenticity, I'm always crying right along with them, for the winners and especially the losers.
4. Getting lost in a really good fiction series.
Here in the South, summer gets to be hot as blazes and no one in their right mind wants to be outside all the time. The very best summer treat is stealing away to a cold bedroom for an afternoon reading time, or maybe a nap in the lovely AC. I can't stop reading "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion" by Beth Brower. A friend recommended it to me early in the summer and I'm so grateful to enjoy the eight book series all summer long.
Making more dates with friends.
This summer I've been really making more time to be with friends. I think for a good chunk of my life I was always the friend that you had to schedule six months in advance (sorry about that.) But as life has moved on, I'm coming to treasure the abundance of fantastic people in my midst. I feel like investing in friends is one of the single greatest ways to feel better about everything. This summer I have had lots of walking times, coffee dates, dinner at interesting ethnic restaurants, meet ups for golf or workouts, or simply stopping by for a hello (always call first right?) I'm learning that friends are true gold and summer feels like an especially wonderful time to share time with the shiny people in my midst.
What about you? What tiny traditions are you enjoying this summer?
Maybe my tiny traditions are nothing that are your style. Think about what you and your family are enjoying this summer -- this might be a fun topic over dinner or on a long road trip.
What it comes down to is asking the question: how are you treasuring life this summer in the simplest of ways? Because when we take the time to savor the beauty in our lives, it becomes even sweeter.
If you'd like even more inspiration to savor the summer, check out The Slow Down Summer Companion -- a 14 page free download with easy summer slow down ideas, reflection journal prompts, stories and more to make it a summer to love.
