How to make the most of the sun

The Great OutdoorsParentingSouth WalesWales

24 Apr

I have this problem in Spring and Summer; I feel compelled to make the most of every single sunny day we get. That's right all 5 of them ;) Our summers are not what they once were, or at least what my hazy childhood memories combined with American Summer vacation movies have convinced me they once were. I envision endless days of sunshine, not a drop of rain and hours on end spent outside soaking up all that Vitamin D. I think if this were the reality I wouldn't feel so guilty when I'm sat inside and there's blue sky outside. But since the weather seems to yo-yo from hot to cold, and dry to rainy in minutes, I can't shake the feeling that I have to enjoy every single moment of sunshine. So until I learn how to lose the guilt, or we get a summer of consistent warm weather (I know, I can hardly type it with a straight face!) Here is how I will make the most of the sun...

Forget Housework. Yep, I'm serious. I will clean, I'm not crazy, but if my house looks like a bomb went off and we're down to our last clean pair of pants, I'm saying "who cares" and getting my butt outside! (I'll shove a load of laundry on before I go though just incase it's sunny 2 days in a row, but the tidying can wait... till winter if need be!)

Al Fresco Dining. We moved into our house just over a year ago, it was a bit of a fixer upper (are you singing that Frozen song now?) and whilst the house is pretty much as done as it will ever be the garden is one big pile of potential, and if i spend too long out there I just want to wave a magic wand and have it all fixed. But, it's safe for the kids, has a picnic bench and enough play equipment to keep them happy for at least 5 minutes, so I'm going to do my best to ignore the potential as it mocks me and just get out there anyway; lunch, dinner, hey why not even breakfast! Well probably not breakfast as it's rarely warm before 9am in this country, but we'll be making the most of it when we can.

Tea on the Beach. We are a one car family so logistically this one is a tad tricky as Hubby is usually home when you'd want to be eating and school nights you always think you should probably be "responsible" and get the kids in bed on time. But I have yet to have tea on the beach and regret it. So if sacrifices need to be made, then make them I will. I'm thinking if we can do this once a week we'll be living the dream, but I'll settle for once a fortnight. (Apologies if you just read that and you don't live by the sea. You should probably move!)

Walking/Cycling to School/Work. So not only does this one help the environment but it's a great way to make the most of the sun. I'm guessing most of you have some kind of journey to do each day. If it's possible to get there without a car there's no better season for it. I personally have 3, (yes 3!), school runs to do each day, a grand total of 6 miles. But due to the aforementioned one car family situation, we get to "enjoy" walking and cycling even on rainy days! But this is definitely a great way to get a daily dose of Vitamin D.

And last but not least...

Stop Complaining. Yep you read that right. I'm going to try not to rant, but complaining about the weather is a serious pet peeve of mine. I appreciate British people love to talk about the weather, but oh my the complaining is too much for me. There is a pretty good chance the weather this summer will fall short of my very high "Summer Movie" standards but it would be a waste of air to complain about it. If it rains we'll put on coats and go out anyway, or do some of that housework I neglected on sunny days. And when the sun does shine we will be doing everything listed above and then some. Anyone who's ever looked at a map will appreciate we live a fair distance from the equator, on an island which has to deal with weather systems coming from every direction, varying wildly. No amount of complaining will ever change that. It's time to embrace our crazy climate or move ;) And don't even get me started on people who complain when it's hot!

I hope you all manage to make the most of the sun this year! Here's to an awesome Summer.