I'm happy you and Sage found each other and took him on adventures. That brought a spark to the day. Also, I sort of got hooked on General Hospital one summer when I was a kid and stayed with my grandparents in Florida. It was the Luke and Laura years. I wasn't able to watch it when I got back to Brooklyn in the fall.
The Luke and Laura years were totally addictive. Also Robert and Holly, and Rick Springfield and John Stamos. Sometimes I had to translate what was going on to my grandmother haha.
A beautiful essay, and one that makes me wish I had done more adventuring in the pre-internet era (I was kind of a homebody during college breaks). Glad your youngest is having that experience! I was just talking to my youngest last night, and he was saying he thought the development of the personal computer was where it all went wrong — computers are fine for work, he says, but people shouldn't have them in their homes (and now in their pockets).
I mean, he is not wrong. And then our phones just drove the nail in the coffin. It's really hard to know where to draw the line though sometimes. Like I was getting frustrated by my kid's lack of responses on text because she didn't always have her phone on her!
I used to watch General Hospital with my grandma also! 💗 Such a great memory, right?
I agree about the optimization of summer, it’s too much. I remember my summers filled with reading books and just being a kid, riding bikes, running through the sprinklers, eating otter pops (remember those?), looking at the stars… it’s definitely different now.
What is it about watching soaps with your grandmother that's such a universal experience? But only during specific years like a time capsule. It's so interesting!
Oh I hear that. Yes, I start getting tired of the weather, but it's the looming start of the school year (and all the back to school ads) that really drives the anxiety and FOMO. Summer vacation is a time boxed break with such a different routine if you have kids - because otherwise, summer weather stretches deep into September!
Oh what a beautiful and touching story about Sage. She clearly loved you for saving her and giving her an amazing life.
The summer thing with high school/college kids is really tough. We tell them that this is the time to live life (we were able to!) but if they do, they often get set back years in landing their first career job. That paradigm is very unsettling to me and leads to burnout in multiple areas of life, not just workwise. I'm so happy your daughter gets to experience life unplugged. It's such a rarity now and her personal revelation is truly priceless!
Yeah I loved that cat so much. I was devastated when he died. The summer thing with kids is really rough. So much pressure at such early ages And the grind of applications fills me with such dread. I hate how it's evolved to this so much. I think my kid found the best of both worlds this summer. They do work the kids a lot in her research lab, but they get to do it in the remote mountains. It's going to be quite a culture shock when she comes back!
What a special story of you and Sage! I love that he got to experience both life on the road and in the city while he was with you.
I'm trying to return to the idea of a slower summer myself. My summers during middle school years were particularly slow as we couldn't afford family vacations, but I honestly don't remember fretting about that. What I do remember is running down the hall to my friend's apartment and knocking on the door to hang out, or getting frozen yogurt with my mom on weekends. I'm hoping to make more ordinary memories within our realistic routines instead of forcibly stretching ourselves because of what perception may demand.
What your youngest is experiencing sounds so wonderful. It reminds me to go into nature more often, too. Thank you for writing!
I didn't go on any summer vacations growing up either and aside from a few weeks of camp mostly for childcare reasons, did nothing during the summers. That was just normal! It's so crazy how even camp is competitive to sign up for. I remember when the kids were younger, having to reserve our spots as soon as they came out in january because we didn't want to be stuck with nowhere for them to go (we needed camp for childcare). When I say regional, I'm sure other places are not as crazy like that. Everything in NYC is so intense lol.
I think things are similar here in the Bay Area with summer camps, unfortunately (popular and needed for childcare). Something my partner and I will have to think about in just a few years...!
Dang, it sounds like you had the backpacking through Europe experience every summer, just inside the vast confines of the continental US. That's really cool.
Everyone around me had better grades and connections and snatched up the internships I so desperately applied for during college, so I felt like I was being left behind. But those summers, I got extra time at home with my family (including our aging shih tzu at the time) and friends. And with age and experience shaping my perspective years later, it was no longer about falling behind. That extra time at home gave me more time with them that I don't have easy access to these days living/working in adulthood in a different state from them, and was immensely valuable in creating memories with my loved ones I can look back on fondly--little and big things that I took for granted back then in the moment. It doesn't show up on the resume, but I feel more well-rounded as a person because of that experience.
I really appreciate you writing this, about internships and spending more time with your family. I dread the grind of the whole application season, but this is a reminder that it's not the only way. My oldest wasn't able to secure one - it's almost more competitive to get than a job! We'll have to see how the younger one does, but it's not the end of the world. Thanks for your words, Bryan. Appreciate it!
I love the way you reframe the unstructured connecting with nature your child has the opportunity to do this summer - so different from how you (me too!) spent summers, but not necessarily in a bad way… I think often of how to introduce my own kiddos (nowhere near college age yet lol) to the world, to ideas and nature and ways of being - in ways reminiscent of what I valued most about growing up, just being able to be a kid. Not sure what it looks like now, but I know childhood is still possible 🩵 thanks for writing this story for us to read!
Thanks 😊. I'm really happy that she is having this experience because it seems like the best of all worlds - still doing a research internship, but out in the mountains rather than in an academic university lab. We can introduce our kids to all kind of things, sign them up for camp and classes, but this kind of transformative experience is something that we each have to find for ourselves, I think.
My son is an alpha baby and even though he's totally a digitally native baby, he's 12 and outside of any sports and stuff that is wrapping up until the new school year, he's been enjoying riding his bike like a ton, with his friends. Granted it's not quite like the 80s and 90s where we can't be tracked but there's still some freedom there and in some small way, it's a nice reminder that some aspects of our youth can somewhat translate to now...kinda like your daughter's outdoor experiences at the moment. I'm a corporate office momma working from home so, being with nature more in general is always nice.
Summer is the only time of the year when I will simply not compromise my peace. It is a time when I allow myself space to breathe, slow down, touch grass and wait for fruit and veg I planted to ripen. I deliberately create distance between me and any goals or outcomes. But unfortunately closer to September it gets, the stronger the anxiety about getting back in the fast paced proverbial lane. Finding balance is like finding Shangri-La
And how wonderful is your story about Sage! Cats are such special companions. Thank you for sharing. I hope you find some quiet in the city Jenna. 🙌🏼🤗
Those few weeks leading up to September is like the biggest Sunday scaries! Glad you carve out time for yourself every summer. And I do have some quiet in my neck of the woods here in Brooklyn. ☺️
I love that your daughter's summer sounds like a bliss: no metrics, no content, just newts and stars and boredom! I would love to have 2 months like that; the amount of reading I would catch up on!
Well actually, it's a research internship, so lots of metrics and content! And data and science. Those professors are working the undergraduate research assistants hard! But they still have time for stargazing and laying in hammocks.
Catching up after a week in Seattle.. our easy summers of yore were so magical in retrospect. But maybe everything we experienced pre-digital life was? Ironically I’m writing this reply to a digital post I loved on my iPhone, but like you I missed the ability to just be present. I’ve been trying to diving into analog photography lately and I think that’s a call back to those easier times. As always Jenna your words hit home.
I’m missing the PNW this summer! Hope you had a good week. I’m sure we look at the past with rose-colored glasses and romanticize this time, but it does seem magical. Let’s try to bring some of it back.
Beautiful. So many things to ponder in this post. Sage, and your time with him. Your daughter’s summer unplugged, and now the limited weeks we have left of this summer..
I loved meeting you last week and look forward to more cafe meetups in Brooklyn. ❤️
I'm happy you and Sage found each other and took him on adventures. That brought a spark to the day. Also, I sort of got hooked on General Hospital one summer when I was a kid and stayed with my grandparents in Florida. It was the Luke and Laura years. I wasn't able to watch it when I got back to Brooklyn in the fall.
The Luke and Laura years were totally addictive. Also Robert and Holly, and Rick Springfield and John Stamos. Sometimes I had to translate what was going on to my grandmother haha.
A beautiful essay, and one that makes me wish I had done more adventuring in the pre-internet era (I was kind of a homebody during college breaks). Glad your youngest is having that experience! I was just talking to my youngest last night, and he was saying he thought the development of the personal computer was where it all went wrong — computers are fine for work, he says, but people shouldn't have them in their homes (and now in their pockets).
I mean, he is not wrong. And then our phones just drove the nail in the coffin. It's really hard to know where to draw the line though sometimes. Like I was getting frustrated by my kid's lack of responses on text because she didn't always have her phone on her!
I used to watch General Hospital with my grandma also! 💗 Such a great memory, right?
I agree about the optimization of summer, it’s too much. I remember my summers filled with reading books and just being a kid, riding bikes, running through the sprinklers, eating otter pops (remember those?), looking at the stars… it’s definitely different now.
What is it about watching soaps with your grandmother that's such a universal experience? But only during specific years like a time capsule. It's so interesting!
I LOVED hearing about your past summer adventures and finding Sage!!
Usually around this time I start getting a little tired of summer, as humidity starts to rise. All the FOMO messaging gets a bit overwhelming!
Oh I hear that. Yes, I start getting tired of the weather, but it's the looming start of the school year (and all the back to school ads) that really drives the anxiety and FOMO. Summer vacation is a time boxed break with such a different routine if you have kids - because otherwise, summer weather stretches deep into September!
Oh what a beautiful and touching story about Sage. She clearly loved you for saving her and giving her an amazing life.
The summer thing with high school/college kids is really tough. We tell them that this is the time to live life (we were able to!) but if they do, they often get set back years in landing their first career job. That paradigm is very unsettling to me and leads to burnout in multiple areas of life, not just workwise. I'm so happy your daughter gets to experience life unplugged. It's such a rarity now and her personal revelation is truly priceless!
Yeah I loved that cat so much. I was devastated when he died. The summer thing with kids is really rough. So much pressure at such early ages And the grind of applications fills me with such dread. I hate how it's evolved to this so much. I think my kid found the best of both worlds this summer. They do work the kids a lot in her research lab, but they get to do it in the remote mountains. It's going to be quite a culture shock when she comes back!
What a special story of you and Sage! I love that he got to experience both life on the road and in the city while he was with you.
I'm trying to return to the idea of a slower summer myself. My summers during middle school years were particularly slow as we couldn't afford family vacations, but I honestly don't remember fretting about that. What I do remember is running down the hall to my friend's apartment and knocking on the door to hang out, or getting frozen yogurt with my mom on weekends. I'm hoping to make more ordinary memories within our realistic routines instead of forcibly stretching ourselves because of what perception may demand.
What your youngest is experiencing sounds so wonderful. It reminds me to go into nature more often, too. Thank you for writing!
I didn't go on any summer vacations growing up either and aside from a few weeks of camp mostly for childcare reasons, did nothing during the summers. That was just normal! It's so crazy how even camp is competitive to sign up for. I remember when the kids were younger, having to reserve our spots as soon as they came out in january because we didn't want to be stuck with nowhere for them to go (we needed camp for childcare). When I say regional, I'm sure other places are not as crazy like that. Everything in NYC is so intense lol.
I think things are similar here in the Bay Area with summer camps, unfortunately (popular and needed for childcare). Something my partner and I will have to think about in just a few years...!
Yo have time! Don’t think about it at all now!
Dang, it sounds like you had the backpacking through Europe experience every summer, just inside the vast confines of the continental US. That's really cool.
Everyone around me had better grades and connections and snatched up the internships I so desperately applied for during college, so I felt like I was being left behind. But those summers, I got extra time at home with my family (including our aging shih tzu at the time) and friends. And with age and experience shaping my perspective years later, it was no longer about falling behind. That extra time at home gave me more time with them that I don't have easy access to these days living/working in adulthood in a different state from them, and was immensely valuable in creating memories with my loved ones I can look back on fondly--little and big things that I took for granted back then in the moment. It doesn't show up on the resume, but I feel more well-rounded as a person because of that experience.
I have a lot of stories from that time!
I really appreciate you writing this, about internships and spending more time with your family. I dread the grind of the whole application season, but this is a reminder that it's not the only way. My oldest wasn't able to secure one - it's almost more competitive to get than a job! We'll have to see how the younger one does, but it's not the end of the world. Thanks for your words, Bryan. Appreciate it!
I love the way you reframe the unstructured connecting with nature your child has the opportunity to do this summer - so different from how you (me too!) spent summers, but not necessarily in a bad way… I think often of how to introduce my own kiddos (nowhere near college age yet lol) to the world, to ideas and nature and ways of being - in ways reminiscent of what I valued most about growing up, just being able to be a kid. Not sure what it looks like now, but I know childhood is still possible 🩵 thanks for writing this story for us to read!
Thanks 😊. I'm really happy that she is having this experience because it seems like the best of all worlds - still doing a research internship, but out in the mountains rather than in an academic university lab. We can introduce our kids to all kind of things, sign them up for camp and classes, but this kind of transformative experience is something that we each have to find for ourselves, I think.
My son is an alpha baby and even though he's totally a digitally native baby, he's 12 and outside of any sports and stuff that is wrapping up until the new school year, he's been enjoying riding his bike like a ton, with his friends. Granted it's not quite like the 80s and 90s where we can't be tracked but there's still some freedom there and in some small way, it's a nice reminder that some aspects of our youth can somewhat translate to now...kinda like your daughter's outdoor experiences at the moment. I'm a corporate office momma working from home so, being with nature more in general is always nice.
I hope your son can hold on to that summer feeling for as long as he can. The whole rat race of starts too soon for these kids.
Summer is the only time of the year when I will simply not compromise my peace. It is a time when I allow myself space to breathe, slow down, touch grass and wait for fruit and veg I planted to ripen. I deliberately create distance between me and any goals or outcomes. But unfortunately closer to September it gets, the stronger the anxiety about getting back in the fast paced proverbial lane. Finding balance is like finding Shangri-La
And how wonderful is your story about Sage! Cats are such special companions. Thank you for sharing. I hope you find some quiet in the city Jenna. 🙌🏼🤗
Those few weeks leading up to September is like the biggest Sunday scaries! Glad you carve out time for yourself every summer. And I do have some quiet in my neck of the woods here in Brooklyn. ☺️
I love that your daughter's summer sounds like a bliss: no metrics, no content, just newts and stars and boredom! I would love to have 2 months like that; the amount of reading I would catch up on!
Well actually, it's a research internship, so lots of metrics and content! And data and science. Those professors are working the undergraduate research assistants hard! But they still have time for stargazing and laying in hammocks.
Catching up after a week in Seattle.. our easy summers of yore were so magical in retrospect. But maybe everything we experienced pre-digital life was? Ironically I’m writing this reply to a digital post I loved on my iPhone, but like you I missed the ability to just be present. I’ve been trying to diving into analog photography lately and I think that’s a call back to those easier times. As always Jenna your words hit home.
I’m missing the PNW this summer! Hope you had a good week. I’m sure we look at the past with rose-colored glasses and romanticize this time, but it does seem magical. Let’s try to bring some of it back.
Beautiful. So many things to ponder in this post. Sage, and your time with him. Your daughter’s summer unplugged, and now the limited weeks we have left of this summer..
I loved meeting you last week and look forward to more cafe meetups in Brooklyn. ❤️
Thank you, Samantha. Likewise as well! Will be thinking of you in the next month - big changes! ❤️
You’re such a lovely storyteller and artist. I hope you’ll create a longer piece on day :)
That’s really so kind of you, Bethany. Thank you!