I want to remember this summer because it is the first one I’ve truly had with both my kids. Summers to me are associated with lots of play and the following:

• Eating icecream on the deck
• Running around chasing butterflies
• Swimming
• Eating meals outside
• Watching fireflies
• Having picnics in the backyard
• Playing in the sprinkler park
• Feeding the animals at the zoo
• Running through the sprinkler
• Playing in the inflatable pool
• Arranged play dates each week

I’ve gotten to do these things in spades. I’ve gotten to enjoy these moments with my children because I am there to do these things with them. If I could delegate “create special memories” to someone else, I don’t think I could. I still have many more things I want to do before summer is over: take the kids to the planetarium, and the beach. Our favorite spot was the trail side nature center in warren where we held the turtles. We had dhikr and pizza with our dear friends and did bbq with our family.

I want to myself to know that I gave them everything I have so that they would have a great summer. I also enjoyed my summer because I did the following

1. Learned some salsa and mambo
2. Practiced my Bollywood Zumba moves
3. Cheated my garage
4. Set up my office (still a work in progress)
5. Got over my fear of long distance driving (took the kids to sesame place in June)
6. Got over my fear of riding the subway with fatima
7. Took a trip to Washington DC
8. Took a trip to NYC on the subway
9. Watched videos to learn how to make an easel out of pizza box (that was yesterday)

Here’s to the best summer!