Summer Lovin’

It’s Labor Day, which is always bittersweet. The official end of summer and the official back to the chaos of fall. It is also the time of year when many of our kids will write their “What I Did/What I Learned Over the Summer” essay upon returning to class.

It’s an interesting question – and an opportunity for reflection for all of us. I thought about what my essay would look like while on a walk with Zoe. I’m proud of my essay for this summer because I approached this summer (more than any in recent memory), with an intentional plan. Here are the top things I learned this summer:

1) Epic Family Vacations Can Be Unstructured
This summer, the biggest thing I wanted was a great family vacation. We love to travel and show our kids new things. About four years ago, Taylor started having seizures on airplanes, so we grounded her from flying. I have never experienced greater stress than a grand mal seizure at 30,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean on a trip to Hawaii – in both directions. We’ve taken lots of car trips as a family since then and just the big kids on bigger adventures, but the time felt right for a true traveling vacation. With strong support from Taylor’s neurologist, great medication to use in case of an emergency, and some confidence in our ability to handle it – off we went. The flights went great, and we had a great vacation.

Our destination was southern California – chosen due to short flight time, access to the beach, and the opportunity to show our kids new experiences. We home-based in Newport Beach for a week and then moved to Del Mar, north of San Diego, for about a week. It was amazing. We explored beaches up and down the coast, swam for hours, played in the waves, and soaked up the sun. We had a few adventures – a day trip to Hollywood and a day trip to Sea World – but for the most part, it was unstructured fun time. Such a luxury to wake up and your biggest decision of the day being “Which beach to visit?”

I knew I had the right plan when my son asked me shortly before we left, “The beaches sound cool…. but will we get any free time?” For spring break, we took the big kids on a fast-paced tourist trip of NYC and Washington DC. While a success, it was an aggressive schedule. So, the promise of relaxation and no schedule was a big hit all around.

Such an important reminder for me. I can be a hard charger  and some trips bring pressure to develop the perfect itinerary – but relaxation is a gift. I’m glad we took it.

While in California, I read 5 books (including The Nest, Modern Lovers, and The Couple Next Door – all of which I highly recommend). Hung out with the kids. Went for great runs with amazing views. Found Ozark on Netflix. Had the white space to think about big questions – like, what do I want to do with my life? This blog, actually, was dreamed up while on a run on this vacation. We saw dear friends we hadn’t seen in a few years and I had long talks on the beach with one of my best girlfriends.

Of course, it wasn’t all perfect. There were days with too much screen time. Taylor ended up with a fever in Del Mar for four days and had to stay inside. So much unstructured time led to the dreaded complaint of “I’m bored.” But all in all, a big hit. And the highlight of my summer.

2) Learning is Energizing
I took a new job about a year ago. It’s a different type of job (Chief of Staff for the head of marketing for Windows and Devices at Microsoft) than I’ve ever done, which have focused on public relations and marketing. It’s a bit of an intangible role – and a huge reason to take a position like this is to learn and grow as a business leader. My boss has strongly encouraged me to prioritize learning – and growth – so this summer I built a specific plan, with specific goals, with this coaching in mind.

I chose ten books* to read – all for different reasons – but I was excited to read them all. I didn’t just read these books – I studied them. Highlighted the heck out of them with fluorescent pens. Took notes and wrote detailed books reports – I kid you not – which I shared with my colleagues. I figured if I was going to commit to learning, I was going to REALLY commit.

I loved it. I was an enthusiastic student in my youth and I hadn’t had this level of intense study since my master’s program. Here is the beautiful thing about taking time to learn. You realize how much you DON’T KNOW. The world is huge, knowledge is powerful, new perspectives are inspiring, and learning ignites creativity. Learning literally makes you feel young again. With so much potential for growth, knowledge and impact.

Another part of my growth plan was meeting with marketing leaders who work for other companies about hot trends in marketing, and over 40 people on my team – many of whom are early in their career. Meeting with no other agenda than – I want to learn from you – is so interesting and energizing. What do you do? What do you love? What do you not love? Where do you see opportunity? These conversations were gifts and a reminder of how many amazing people are in this world if we just take the time to meet them.

3) Friends Make the World Go Round
I had the unexpected pleasure of seeing lots of friends this summer, from all parts of my life. My 25th year high school reunion was this summer, and I had planned my annual summer trip home around the date. I love seeing my family, hanging out with my parents and sisters, and their awesome families. This year, I got the added bonus of re-connecting with friends who shaped me from a young age.

At the reunion, I largely hung out with girlfriends from my grade school days. Our grade school was a K-8 school, with about 25 kids per grade. So by graduation, you know each other VERY well. These are friends who have known me the longest in this world. Who remember me in pigtails. Who shared a million sleep-overs, horror movies, first secrets, and mountains of junk food with me. Who have memories of me and my family that I had long forgotten. What a gift to catch up and see how strong the bonds of early friendship can be so many years later.

I saw my best friend from high school a few times and again, reconnected like no time had passed. We sat on her parent’s couch for hours and talked, talked, and talked – while she gave me an unsolicited foot rub. Who else but your best friend will rub your feet – for hours – without you even asking? This is a friend who has celebrated my best times and carried me through my worst times. She knows me better than pretty much anyone on the planet – and loves me all the same. I love her dearly.

Then in California, one of my best early-in-career work friends was vacationing in San Diego at the same time. Our daughters figured out the timing via Instagram and we met up for a few days of fun. She was my dear friend at Microsoft while we were all figuring out our career and our lives. We spent hours at lunches, at smoke breaks (neither one of us smoked, but another dear friend did, so we often chatted during her smoke breaks), and in the dog years of long, long hours at work. We had our babies at the same time and our first daughters shared a nanny. For those years, we commuted together and talked about everything in hours and hours of traffic. She has since moved away, but again – we reconnected like no time had passed.

Three distinct chapters of my life delivered via amazing girlfriends. The absolute best. Lifelong friendships are gifts. They deserve to be cultivated, nurtured, and kept alive. They connect us to our past and add meaning to the different chapters of our lives.

Of course, summer is fun in Seattle with my day-to-day friends. Girlfriends. So special. So important to make time for.

Three important lessons this summer. And this doesn’t include the many forgettable moments that didn’t shine bright, but I will hold close. We moved into a new neighborhood this year and summer here is incredible. We can drive our golf cart to the pool. Swim for hours. Have kids in and out of the house at all hours – because they are on foot – and oh so independent. Enjoy dance parties at our neighborhood club and impromptu girl nights with the best summer cocktails.

Of course, not everything on my list was accomplished. I didn’t take tennis lessons. I didn’t get in killer shape (this one was a bit ambiguous, but I’m certain I didn’t achieve it). I didn’t push the kids to do enough math. We didn’t get their school service hours completed for the year. I didn’t make as much progress on an upcoming house remodel project as I intended to. I didn’t get to see Justin Bieber (I had tickets to take the big kids in San Diego, but he cancelled his tour).

But it was still awesome.

Ahhh summer 2017, I really loved you.

*If you’re interested in my Summer Top Ten books (all largely professional reads), here they are. I recommend them all except the last one – I found it to be dated – and boring (no offense to Harvard).

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Author: Lisa Gurry

Defined as a Writer. Creator. Mom of 3. Runner. Fashion lover. Traveler.

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