I love summer. It’s a wonderful break from my day to day life as a NYC public school teacher. For the past few years, our family has spent our summer break at our cottage in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.
This summer I shared some of our adventures on my Tidy Dad Instagram account, and I received a DM that read, “You seem so different in the summer. You seem freer. Lighter. Happier.” And it’s true.
After surviving the final weeks of the school year, Emily and I packed up our little family and headed to our cottage. At the start of summer break, I also pulled out my writer’s notebook and reflected on the prompt: “What do I want to be true this summer?” Today I’m sharing my end of summer reflections.
“What do I want to be true?”
I turned to a new page in my notebook and began to write. Here’s a look at my summer list:
Clearly my beautiful teacher handwriting took a break for the summer too. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that this list helped me to set some intentions for how to spend my time over summer break. This is a practice that I’ve found helpful, not just for summer, but any time I’m making the shift from one season (either weather seasons or life seasons!) to another.
Let’s unpack some of what I learned this summer, and take a look at my end of summer reflections.
What do I want to be true this summer?
1. Have a book going
I always keep a book handy during the school year for a mental and emotional escape, and I do the same in the summer. This summer, most of my reading was for my online classes (more on that below), but I did manage to squeeze in a few “fun books.” I started strong with Malibu Rising, which tells the story of four siblings in Malibu dealing with their tumultuous childhood with their rockstar father. It explores their family dynamics and their journey to live authentic lives. Although I aimed to read one book per week, Malibu Rising was the only “fun book” I actually finished this summer, and that’s okay!
2. Swim consistently and move to the advanced lanes
This summer I participated in an adult swim program on Monday and Friday mornings. Halfway through the summer, my coach stopped me and said it was time for me to move lanes. He told me I’d developed strong endurance and efficiency, so it was time to move up to a more advanced lane. By the end of the summer I had moved up several times and felt strong swimming each week. I was really proud of myself.
I also expanded to open water swims on Wednesdays and Saturdays, swimming 1 to 1.5 miles each time. Last summer, I struggled with feeling nervous in open water, but this year, I felt much more comfortable and at ease—talk about personal growth and progress! I even personalized a few custom swimsuits!
If you’re interested in swimming too, check out the blog post about my favorite swim essentials.
3. Learn how to use the Ninja Creami
At the beginning of the summer, we ordered a Ninja Creami as a family summer gift. It’s been so much fun experimenting with different recipes. I’m still amazed that we can turn a can of peaches or mandarin oranges into gelato! We’ve made recipes that include Greek yogurt, birthday cake protein powder, and favorites like strawberry and chocolate. We also ordered this extra four pack of pints so that we could keep multiple flavors ready in the freezer at one time. This is one summer intention I’m excited to carry into the school year. Someday it’s going to look as beautiful as the gelato we ate in Italy last February.
4. Take care of my plants
This summer, we moved all of our house plants from New York to Pennsylvania, where they seem to enjoy the fresh air as much as we do. One of our most exciting house projects this summer was building window boxes for three of our cottage windows. My dad drove up from Kentucky with his power tools to help us with the project. He also taught Mabel how to use a few of the power tools! The window boxes add a pop of joy and color and will be fun to experiment with year round.
5. Cultivate and nurture relationships
This summer, we hosted friends and family at our cottage. We bought the cottage in 2019 as a family retreat space, and it’s also been a wonderful place for us to host others, spending time laughing, playing games, building puzzles, swimming, hiking, riding paddle boards, and enjoying the great outdoors.
At the end of the summer, we completed a two-week road trip to visit extended family in Kentucky and Indiana. It’s always a whirlwind of a trip seeing grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and great-grandmas, but it was so nice to show the girls our “home”.
Check out some of our favorite family games and family puzzles here!
6. Complete a triathlon
I’m a fan of early mornings during the school year, starting my day by cleaning one area of our apartment before the kids wake up. This summer, I kept up my weekday cleaning routine at the cottage and also added early morning workouts. Last summer, most of my swim friends completed a neighborhood triathlon, which at the time felt incredibly daunting. But this summer, I decided to give it a try! I borrowed a bike from a neighbor and signed up for my first triathlon.
Of the three disciplines, biking was the most nerve-racking since I hadn’t ridden much since childhood. I structured my week with runs on Sundays, coached swims on Mondays and Fridays, open water swims on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and dreaded brick workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Brick workouts (bike and then run) are called that because your legs literally feel like bricks during the transition. Despite the challenge, I set my alarm early, completed the workouts, and gained confidence and strength.
This summer I completed not one, but TWO triathlons. One in our Pennsylvania neighborhood and a second one a few weeks later, with my brother-in-law in Indianapolis. The first triathlon was to see if I could do it, and the second was to see if I could enjoy it. They were both great races and experiences!
If you’re interested in triathlons, check out my list of triathlon items for swimming, biking, and running
7. Make space for others
I also tried to make space for Emily and the girls to also pursue what brings them joy. Emily joined a summer book club (she helped me realize that I am in fact an Enneagram 7, NOT an Enneagram 3) and picked up running again. The older two girls competed on a summer swim team (we shared swim coaches), took weekly gymnastics classes, enjoyed Dance Camp, and also completed their first kids triathlon. Margaret made progress in her summer swim lessons, enjoyed Princess Camp, and took Baby Lisa on lots of adventures (and as a companion on running naps in our jogging stroller). In the past, we typically avoid scheduling extracurricular activities during the school year to keep our afternoons free and weekends open for family adventures, but summer is a great time to explore activities we enjoy!
If you are also swimming with kids, check out our blog post about our favorite swim essentials for kids.
8. Take summer classes
This summer, I took four classes totaling 12 college credit hours to pursue my certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This will be incredibly beneficial for my work as a teacher in New York City. The coursework was challenging, but the silver lining was that I was able to sit outside on our deck while I took the classes. The flowers in my window boxes always inspired compliments from my classmates. During the classes, I reminded myself that I didn’t have to be the brightest or smartest, and just focused on my personal learning and building relationships with my classmates. While in Indianapolis I took my certification exam and now I’m just awaiting my certification test results. It was a tough exam, but I’m hoping to find out if I passed soon!
9. Transform the deck
As I alluded to earlier, this summer, we transformed our deck. It was a project we’d been planning for years with various styles of couches and chairs saved on Pinterest. We finally took the plunge and organized a few different zones on our deck, including a lounge space that was perfect for my online summer classes. We’re also excited to use this space when we visit the cottage on weekends this fall.
10. Make a signature Tidy Dad drink
Summer is also the perfect time for a cocktail. While in Kentucky, my crafty mom helped me with my signature Tidy Dad cocktail. A few years ago for my birthday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law gifted me ingredients for a blue lemonade cocktail. I recreated that drink and also added some fun Tidy Dad inspired drink accessories.
As we close out summer 2024, it’s been nice to consider my end of summer reflections. We’re looking forward to the start of a new school year, and a new season of Tidy Dad. Thanks for following along!
Thanks for reading my End of Summer Reflections!
This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission for purchases made through these links. We hope you enjoy checking out some of our family’s favorite items. ____________________________________________________________________________
You may also like:
Hi, I'm Tidy Dad!
Tyler Moore is the creator of the “Tidy Dad” Instagram, TikTok, and website. A public school teacher in New York City, husband, and father of three young daughters, he has been featured on Good Morning America and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, New York Post, Better Homes & Gardens Secrets of Getting Organized magazine, Apartment Therapy, and many podcasts including HGTV and Minimalist Moms. During the school year, he lives with his wife, Emily, a pediatric occupational therapist, and three daughters in Queens, New York. In the summer, they spend as much time as possible in their small but tidy cottage in the Poconos.
September 2, 2024
Tidying Up: End of Summer Reflections
I love summer. It’s a wonderful break from my day to day life as a NYC public school teacher. For the past few years, our family has spent our summer break at our cottage in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.
This summer I shared some of our adventures on my Tidy Dad Instagram account, and I received a DM that read, “You seem so different in the summer. You seem freer. Lighter. Happier.” And it’s true.
After surviving the final weeks of the school year, Emily and I packed up our little family and headed to our cottage. At the start of summer break, I also pulled out my writer’s notebook and reflected on the prompt: “What do I want to be true this summer?” Today I’m sharing my end of summer reflections.
“What do I want to be true?”
I turned to a new page in my notebook and began to write. Here’s a look at my summer list:
Clearly my beautiful teacher handwriting took a break for the summer too. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that this list helped me to set some intentions for how to spend my time over summer break. This is a practice that I’ve found helpful, not just for summer, but any time I’m making the shift from one season (either weather seasons or life seasons!) to another.
Let’s unpack some of what I learned this summer, and take a look at my end of summer reflections.
What do I want to be true this summer?
1. Have a book going
I always keep a book handy during the school year for a mental and emotional escape, and I do the same in the summer. This summer, most of my reading was for my online classes (more on that below), but I did manage to squeeze in a few “fun books.” I started strong with Malibu Rising, which tells the story of four siblings in Malibu dealing with their tumultuous childhood with their rockstar father. It explores their family dynamics and their journey to live authentic lives. Although I aimed to read one book per week, Malibu Rising was the only “fun book” I actually finished this summer, and that’s okay!
2. Swim consistently and move to the advanced lanes
This summer I participated in an adult swim program on Monday and Friday mornings. Halfway through the summer, my coach stopped me and said it was time for me to move lanes. He told me I’d developed strong endurance and efficiency, so it was time to move up to a more advanced lane. By the end of the summer I had moved up several times and felt strong swimming each week. I was really proud of myself.
I also expanded to open water swims on Wednesdays and Saturdays, swimming 1 to 1.5 miles each time. Last summer, I struggled with feeling nervous in open water, but this year, I felt much more comfortable and at ease—talk about personal growth and progress! I even personalized a few custom swimsuits!
If you’re interested in swimming too, check out the blog post about my favorite swim essentials.
3. Learn how to use the Ninja Creami
At the beginning of the summer, we ordered a Ninja Creami as a family summer gift. It’s been so much fun experimenting with different recipes. I’m still amazed that we can turn a can of peaches or mandarin oranges into gelato! We’ve made recipes that include Greek yogurt, birthday cake protein powder, and favorites like strawberry and chocolate. We also ordered this extra four pack of pints so that we could keep multiple flavors ready in the freezer at one time. This is one summer intention I’m excited to carry into the school year. Someday it’s going to look as beautiful as the gelato we ate in Italy last February.
4. Take care of my plants
This summer, we moved all of our house plants from New York to Pennsylvania, where they seem to enjoy the fresh air as much as we do. One of our most exciting house projects this summer was building window boxes for three of our cottage windows. My dad drove up from Kentucky with his power tools to help us with the project. He also taught Mabel how to use a few of the power tools! The window boxes add a pop of joy and color and will be fun to experiment with year round.
5. Cultivate and nurture relationships
This summer, we hosted friends and family at our cottage. We bought the cottage in 2019 as a family retreat space, and it’s also been a wonderful place for us to host others, spending time laughing, playing games, building puzzles, swimming, hiking, riding paddle boards, and enjoying the great outdoors.
At the end of the summer, we completed a two-week road trip to visit extended family in Kentucky and Indiana. It’s always a whirlwind of a trip seeing grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and great-grandmas, but it was so nice to show the girls our “home”.
Check out some of our favorite family games and family puzzles here!
6. Complete a triathlon
I’m a fan of early mornings during the school year, starting my day by cleaning one area of our apartment before the kids wake up. This summer, I kept up my weekday cleaning routine at the cottage and also added early morning workouts. Last summer, most of my swim friends completed a neighborhood triathlon, which at the time felt incredibly daunting. But this summer, I decided to give it a try! I borrowed a bike from a neighbor and signed up for my first triathlon.
Of the three disciplines, biking was the most nerve-racking since I hadn’t ridden much since childhood. I structured my week with runs on Sundays, coached swims on Mondays and Fridays, open water swims on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and dreaded brick workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Brick workouts (bike and then run) are called that because your legs literally feel like bricks during the transition. Despite the challenge, I set my alarm early, completed the workouts, and gained confidence and strength.
This summer I completed not one, but TWO triathlons. One in our Pennsylvania neighborhood and a second one a few weeks later, with my brother-in-law in Indianapolis. The first triathlon was to see if I could do it, and the second was to see if I could enjoy it. They were both great races and experiences!
If you’re interested in triathlons, check out my list of triathlon items for swimming, biking, and running
7. Make space for others
I also tried to make space for Emily and the girls to also pursue what brings them joy. Emily joined a summer book club (she helped me realize that I am in fact an Enneagram 7, NOT an Enneagram 3) and picked up running again. The older two girls competed on a summer swim team (we shared swim coaches), took weekly gymnastics classes, enjoyed Dance Camp, and also completed their first kids triathlon. Margaret made progress in her summer swim lessons, enjoyed Princess Camp, and took Baby Lisa on lots of adventures (and as a companion on running naps in our jogging stroller). In the past, we typically avoid scheduling extracurricular activities during the school year to keep our afternoons free and weekends open for family adventures, but summer is a great time to explore activities we enjoy!
If you are also swimming with kids, check out our blog post about our favorite swim essentials for kids.
8. Take summer classes
This summer, I took four classes totaling 12 college credit hours to pursue my certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This will be incredibly beneficial for my work as a teacher in New York City. The coursework was challenging, but the silver lining was that I was able to sit outside on our deck while I took the classes. The flowers in my window boxes always inspired compliments from my classmates. During the classes, I reminded myself that I didn’t have to be the brightest or smartest, and just focused on my personal learning and building relationships with my classmates. While in Indianapolis I took my certification exam and now I’m just awaiting my certification test results. It was a tough exam, but I’m hoping to find out if I passed soon!
9. Transform the deck
As I alluded to earlier, this summer, we transformed our deck. It was a project we’d been planning for years with various styles of couches and chairs saved on Pinterest. We finally took the plunge and organized a few different zones on our deck, including a lounge space that was perfect for my online summer classes. We’re also excited to use this space when we visit the cottage on weekends this fall.
10. Make a signature Tidy Dad drink
Summer is also the perfect time for a cocktail. While in Kentucky, my crafty mom helped me with my signature Tidy Dad cocktail. A few years ago for my birthday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law gifted me ingredients for a blue lemonade cocktail. I recreated that drink and also added some fun Tidy Dad inspired drink accessories.
As we close out summer 2024, it’s been nice to consider my end of summer reflections. We’re looking forward to the start of a new school year, and a new season of Tidy Dad. Thanks for following along!
Thanks for reading my End of Summer Reflections!
This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission for purchases made through these links. We hope you enjoy checking out some of our family’s favorite items. ____________________________________________________________________________
You may also like:
September 2, 2024
Tidying Up: End of Summer Reflections
Hi, I'm Tidy Dad!
Tyler Moore is the creator of the “Tidy Dad” Instagram, TikTok, and website. A public school teacher in New York City, husband, and father of three young daughters, he has been featured on Good Morning America and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, New York Post, Better Homes & Gardens Secrets of Getting Organized magazine, Apartment Therapy, and many podcasts including HGTV and Minimalist Moms. During the school year, he lives with his wife, Emily, a pediatric occupational therapist, and three daughters in Queens, New York. In the summer, they spend as much time as possible in their small but tidy cottage in the Poconos.
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