I was recently texting with a neighbor mom, her kids have had a jam-packed summer, she exclaimed how fast it had gone by! This exclamation of what seemed more like exhaustion got me thinking of how different our summers have been. My kids have had activities - but not to the extent they’ve been perpetually busy. I mean isn’t the whole point of summer vacation to “vacate”.
For me it’s been a long, slow summer. We’ve had moments of pure bliss like our vacation to Florida or time spent at the pool interspersed with busier moments like weekend swim meets and work travel. My kids have probably had more screen time than they should, however they’ve also worked on their math, reading and writing to avoid the summer slide back that occurs when you do absolutely nothing. That balance between doing and doing nothing is what we’ve strived for.
And maybe what really made me think about all of this was this video, I had just watched Madisun Grey’s video about self-care in Italy vs the US. She was talking about the cultural differences between the two cultures, where American’s are always trying to pack in more. Whereas Italians embrace - dolce far niete - “the sweetness of doing nothing,” celebrating the joy of idleness and savoring life’s simple pleasures.
In all of our doing, we forgot how to live.
You see, the US is all about more. How can you obtain more, do more, be more. Always stiving, hustling and working 1% harder than your competition. I should know, I’ve lived it and done it. And while I have no regrets about everything I’ve accomplished, I’m at a stage in life where I’d like to slow things down a bit. Because if you do less, time slows down. You savor the moments more, and you become more present not only for yourself but for the people around you who really matter.
Growing up I had friends who were perpetually over scheduled. I remember one in particular who had dark circles under her eyes in 6th grade. I vowed never to do that to my children. Instead, they can pick one or two activities or sports they love and that’s it. I have no intention of spending my weekends and evenings running around from one activity to the next. I want free time for all of us to relax, read a book, learn a new language and just do nothing. Because it’s in these truly free moments that relaxation and creativity happen.
Maybe doing less is a part of the minimalist lifestyle I never considered. So, not only choosing to own less and buy less, but choosing to do less too. Because in the end, maybe less truly is more.
