Summer Goals

Last year we only spent a few weeks of the entire summer on St. Thomas. It was a whirlwind three months that included New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Georgia. There was a day spent road-tripping that took bathroom breaks in five different states. I lived out of the same suitcase for about 8 weeks. By the time I stepped out of the plane in late August into the thick humid St Thomas air, I was ready to collapse and kiss the tarmac and promise to never leave the island again. This summer is different. Other than a brief trip to Virginia and couple weeks spent visiting family, most of our summer will be spent on our rock in the middle of the ocean. I'm looking forward to a slower, lazy, non-suitcase and carry-on sized toiletries summer. To be sure I don't waste it I'm trying to come up with some summer goals.

1. Make it to the beach once a week. Our life gets so hectic during the year that months will go by without a visit to the beach. Which is a shame since a gorgeous one lies a scant seven minute drive from our house.

2. Spend more time every day on the back porch. We have a "this is what island dreams are made of" view. I mean, it's a mountain jutting up out of an ocean. It's hard not to have one of those views. I can see that view out our screen door and back windows from our bedroom, living room, and the kitchen (basically all the rooms I spend my time in). This is a plus because most of the year back porch is in full sun and uninhabitable. But in the summer the sun shifts just enough that the porch is shaded and slightly breezy for most of the day. I'd love to form the summer habit of having breakfast and my morning tea out there.

3. Get outside and be active. I haven't decided what this means yet. Unfortunately we can't just step out the front door and take a walk. Ocean swimming is an option, although my stellar doggie paddle probably isn't the best way to tone my muscles. Walking/running in the sand sounds appealing. And exhausting. Paddle-boarding is fun but I could probably only borrow a board once a week. We've been to the petroglyphs and a few other hiking highlights on St. John but there are some other local hikes we've never gotten around to (Cruz Bay to Caneel, Dorothea to Neltjberg, Botany Bay, etc.). So the wheels are turning. Hopefully I'll have made up my mind by August.

4. Have friends over for dinner several times a month. Our jobs make it pretty much impossible to have people over in the evenings for most of the year. Our work schedule is hectic and a lot of it happens in the evenings or late at night. Summer is the exception. The idea of cooking in the summer without AC is kind of a turn off (there's nothing like sweating through your shirt and having your hair plastered to your face when guests arrive) but I'm going to try to suck it up and brave the discomfort. If this is the only time of the year I can host friends regularly, I want to make it happen.

Do you set goals for summer or other times of the year? If this works I may start making lists for Christmas (bake Seth Swedish breads, make paper stars for a Christmas garland...) or other times of the year that I often flitter away and waste.