09/08/2026
Last night, we wrapped up the summer by doing what we often do in the summer: we headed to the beach.
We met friends there and spent the afternoon swimming, exploring, laughing, and connecting. The opportunity presented itself on a whim, but somehow it felt like the perfect ending.
I’m a theme lover and a believer in the power of intentionality, so when our summer began, like so many summers before it, we chose a theme:
Summer 2026: Connection and Creativity.
And as I reflect on the past three months, I think we nailed it. ❤️
We hosted so many events with family, friends, and community at the farm—graduation parties, a Scout campout, the Heritage Society, to name just a few.
We traveled to the UP and to Madison to spend time with family.
We kayaked. We camped. We celebrated five family birthdays.
We created a farm business, a duck habitat, and an onsite vintage store.
The kids built cardboard forts and tanks, made more Lego creations than I could possibly count or remember, and created delicious homemade recipes like yeast pretzels and rabbit stew. There is also now a handmade teeter-totter on the farm, compliments of my youngest.
There was swimming and exploring and long afternoons outside. There was work. There was play. There was boredom. There was creativity. There was community. And there was a whole lot of connection.
There is such power in both connecting with others and creating something with your own hands, and I think our summer was one to remember.
It certainly helped that I don’t allow my kids to go on screens before 3 PM. They have to sit in boredom a little bit.
Because sometimes boredom is where creativity begins.
And usually the best memories are made when nobody is looking at a screen.
This summer’s theme also happens to coincide pretty perfectly with my overall life philosophy.
If you live locally and stumble upon sidewalk chalk at a park or on a sidewalk that says:
“People and Time: Choose Wisely.” there’s a pretty strong possibility I was behind it.
My life has been a very full, adventure-filled one—with incredible highs and rock-bottom lows. I have more physical and metaphorical scars than I ever could have imagined.
And yet, I’m still here.
Still learning. Still growing. Still loving. Still creating. Still choosing how I spend my days.
Through all of it, one thing has become increasingly clear to me:
Life ultimately boils down to two things: people and time.
We get to decide who we allow access to our journey.
And we get to decide how we spend the precious time we’ve been given while we are here.
You’ve probably heard people say that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Or that if you show me your friends, I can show you your future. People naturally influence the people around them.
And we all know that time is nonrenewable. Once it’s gone, we don’t get it back. Which makes it, perhaps, the most priceless thing we have.
My kids have had the “privilege” of bearing witness to the development of my life philosophy throughout their lives.
Our Sunday nights together often include what they lovingly call “Mom Rant Time.”
It has gotten serious enough that from January through June, I actually made Google Slides presentations:).
After taking the summer off, I plan to restart them this month—and will likely utilizing FaceTime with Lucy.
(Sorry, honey girl. You didn’t escape them just because you moved to Madison.)
Our topics have ranged from discovering love languages—each of my five kids has a different one, because of course they do—to chivalry, leading with curiosity, redefining success, and so many other topics I apparently feel compelled to lecture my children about.😊
But one subject I’ve preached to them about for years is this:
Life = people + time.
And I hope they become intentional about both.
Intentional about the people they choose to invite into their lives.
Intentional about the people they choose to spend their time with.
Intentional about how they spend the limited days they have.
The practice of “Mom Rants” is, in itself, an act of intentionality.
I am painfully aware of how fleeting time is, and I have so much I want to teach my children. So much I want to tell them. So much I want to experience with them.
They are my mission. They are my legacy.
And perhaps that is why this summer felt especially meaningful.
We didn’t just fill the calendar.
We filled the time with people and creativity and connection.
We made things. We welcomed people. We worked. We played. We explored. We learned. We laughed. We lived.
So, Summer 2026, thank you. Thank you for all the sweet and precious moments of beauty, love, connection, creativity, and adventure. Thank you for the time to create the WHOLE FARM cooperative.
For Lego builds.
For cardboard forts.
For rabbit stew and homemade pretzels.
For one very sweet handmade teeter-totter.
For farm days and beach days.
For kayaks and campfires.
For family and friends.
For memories I know I’ll treasure long after these kids are grown.
And thank you for reminding me, once again, that when it comes to this life we’ve been given…
It all boils down to people and time. Choose wisely.
