Before Senior Year Starts, Make the Fun List

AP tests are over, finals are coming, and we’re making room for the good stuff.

With AP tests over and finals still a couple weeks away, this weekend felt like one big exhale. Not relief exactly. More like regrouping. Catching our breath. Things slowing down just enough to notice them.

I started off oddly concerned that Cora didn’t have plans with friends for Saturday night. I caught myself wondering if she should be out doing typical teenager things. But instead, it turned into a gift for us.

Cora is creative. She made the cutest itinerary for Prom Day this year and I absolutely fell in love with it. Tonight I asked if we could make something similar for summer. So we sat next to each other in our recliners and started brainstorming the kind of fun we wanted this summer. At first it was just us. Then we opened it up to Dad, who annoyingly had some really good ideas.

Kayaking. Catalina. Pool days. Coffee shops. Learning something new. Skincare and movie nights. Family scavenger hunts. Building our own board game. Website launches. Seeing Nana and Papa. Minor league baseball.

Goofy things. Ordinary things. Things that probably won’t make anyone’s highlight reel years from now but somehow feel important anyway.

Can we accomplish all this in one summer? Probably not. There’s still summer school, jobs, maybe an internship, and let’s not forget traveling to Nationals.

But never mind that.

Maybe the point isn’t checking every box. Maybe the point is making a list in the first place.

Three weeks before senior year, I’m suddenly aware these summers aren’t endless. Not because I think she’ll disappear the minute she leaves for college, but because I’m becoming conscious of the moments we’re creating while we’re still under the same roof and operating in the rhythm of daily family life. I thought launch season would feel mostly stressful. Lately, it has felt surprisingly hopeful.

Because maybe growing up doesn’t only mean preparing to leave. Maybe it also means learning how to enjoy being together while you still can. And maybe part of launch season is realizing parents need things to look forward to too.

I don’t know if we’ll finish this list. I’m not even sure I want us to. I think I just wanted proof that despite finals, end of year banquets, jobs, summer school, Nationals, and everything speeding up, there is still time left for us.

Guess what?

Not long after we finished admiring the printout, her friends called and asked if she wanted to come over.

I laughed because earlier in the day I’d been quietly worried she wasn’t doing enough typical teenager things.

And there it was.

A spontaneous Saturday night with friends. A summer list with Mom. Dad’s surprisingly good ideas.

Maybe that’s the sweet spot.

Not choosing between family and growing up. Just somehow, for one night, getting both.

Happy, happy mom.

We had so much fun making this that I’m wondering: would a blank/editable Summer Before Senior Year Fun List template be something your family would actually want?

Tell me in the comments. If enough families are interested, Cora and I might make this her first printable.

(I’m already picturing myself making printables from an adventure van somewhere with a ridiculous view. 😄)