Beach Bucket List: How My Summer Fun Idea Taught Me to Honor Promises Made to My Kids by Dawn Taylor

About five years ago, trying to find time (and money) to entertain my young daughters during summer vacation as a single mom, I came up with a brilliant idea. They love the beach (what kid doesn’t?) so I told them that summer we would start a Beach Bucket List. We would go to all of the beaches within an hour of us and check them all off as we visited them. We could pack lunches, stay a few hours and still make it home for dinner. The cost would be minimal, and we could see many beaches in beautiful northern New York that we hadn’t yet.

I was so proud of my play on the traditional “bucket list” expression, but sometimes our great ideas die quickly. I was struggling financially after my marriage ended, and I needed to say yes to every extra shift at work I was offered. Our list just never materialized, although my intentions were good.

A few days ago, my 14-year-old mentioned the Beach Bucket List and she also mentioned how it consisted of one beach. In my defense, it was probably two, but my heart sunk. Kids never forget. So, that Beach Bucket List is back.

Making plans and sticking to them is important. They don’t have to be grand or expensive, they just have to be honored. We have all made promises to our kids and then something else pops up that pushes our plans back, and sometimes they disappear altogether. Don’t let them. Life is too short and kids don’t ever forget, as I recently found out. Now we have an opportunity to start anew.

The girls are older. Things are more stable(ish) financially and my job as a personal trainer is very flexible (I make my own hours) so I am making a point of sticking to our plan. We will explore as many as we can this summer and never go too far, the point to have some fun in the sun, while spending time together. 

So, grab your kids, your Beach Bucket List and enjoy your summer!

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