141: On our minds: How to make a “summer bucket list”

Welcome to Two Truths—a best-selling newsletter by health journalist Cassie Shortsleeve and Motherspeak creator Kelsey Haywood Lucas. Two Truths explores the many facets of maternal health and living well in today’s world. It’s been named a “best parenting Substack” by Motherly, recommended by The Skimm, and featured in Today, Fast Company, The Bump & more.

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💭 On our minds is a new feature of Two Truths where we go back & forth about what’s on our minds—what we’re thinking about, rethinking, or talking about as women, mothers, and journalists covering health and parenting. Think of this series as the conversations we’re having anyway, written down. This week’s installment is about summer bucket lists: what they are, how to make the most of the season, and how we’re thinking about (and making) them.

Summer is a season of many things. It can be joyous, relaxing, stressful, or short; long-awaited, exhausting, peaceful, expensive; or, perhaps, if you’re a new parent, sleepless. One of our early issues of this newsletter was all about nostalgia, largely tied to this season, which, to many, is synonymous with childhood.

In America, we know that summer remains largely unsupported. Camp days don’t line up with workdays and eat up paychecks; millions of children across this country lose free, school-provided meals. Sometimes we can sneak away; sometimes we can’t. Sometimes, it feels impossible to simply keep up. We work, we play, and somehow, we figure it all out. Hopefully, along the way, there are moments where everything clicks.

Whatever summer brings for you, we’ve both been thinking a lot about how to make the time we do have with our children this summer last and linger; how to make this time work for everyone in our families. In talking about this, we realized we both do something similar, in different ways: We create seasonal bucket lists.

Below, paid subscribers will get:

• A look at our love-hate relationship with the term “bucket list” (and why/how we’re reframing the concept)

• The surprising way Cassie’s travel writing for Condé Nast Traveler helped her see the magic in everyday outings

• How to make weekenders happier, according to research

• The terms Kelsey uses to bring structure (and vibes) to her bucket list

• How Cassie brought bucket lists back for her kids in a busy phase of parenting

• How Kelsey integrates her inspiration list with her journal and planner

• The item we’re spending a lot less time with this summer

• The new item helping us be more intentional with our kids

• What parents really want, according to the biggest non-governmental survey of U.S. parents of kids under six

• The power of help in creating space for quality time

• How to advocate for the change moms in this country need

• Plus: 46 starters/inspiration/ideas—straight from our own bucket lists—to help you build your own

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