Rochester Mom’s Summer-To-Do-List is Awesome! #RochMN

Are you feelin' a little anxious over a summer filled with "I'm bored!"? Well, a Rochester mom, Renee Berg, is trying The List...only this isn't like any list you've seen. And, she says, you're welcome to steal it!Before the list, some rules and regulations.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES RULES AND REGULATIONS:

You can each strike 10 items from the list. You don't have to agree on them. You can remove what you each absolutely, positively don't want to do from your own list.

You can do up to 50 percent of the list on days when you’re at dad’s. Fifty to 100 percent of the list must be completed when you are at my house or on vacation.

If you leave the house, you must text or call me in advance for permission.

I will stock the kitchen with spending money for all of the aforementioned endeavors. I will try to leave my computer at home so you can use that for some of your projects.

KID' SUMMER 2017 OPPORTUNITIES
PS, this is your “I AM BORED!” go-to list of things to do this summer! You are welcome

• Practice a musical instrument
• Take the bus to the library
• Take the bus to Thursdays on First
• Walk to Hy-Vee or Silver Lake Foods and buy dinner ingredients
• Walk to Forager for coffee and/or to buy me a birthday gift (hint: such as their cloth napkins) from the pop-up Root Cellar shop there, or buy for me a hot pink Forager t-shirt
• Walk to Dunn Bros for drinks
• Walk to the Gingerbread House for a snack
• Meet me at Einstein Bagels/Caribou on Broadway for lunch or for a snack
• Walk or ride bikes to Family Video to rent a movie
• Ride bikes around Silver Lake
• Go swimming at a pool
• Weed the back garden for up to one hour
• Volunteer at the Salvation Army Adult Day Program
• Write a letter to someone and mail it
• Write a 1-page essay for me to read entitled, “What it’s like to grow up in Rochester, Minn.”
• Write a 1-page essay for me to read entitled, “What it’s like to be in a highly gifted middle school program”
• Watch a movie and write a one-page review of it for me to read
• Read a book and write a one-page review of it for me to read
• Wash the car
• Plan a day trip to Decorah, Iowa
• Make dinner for the family
• Invite a friend over
• Host a movie marathon with a theme and food
• Plan a one-night, two-day trip to Dubuque, Iowa
• Send a local, state or national politician a card or letter about something that’s important to you
• Sign up for a community education class that interests you
• Never once say you are bored
• Ride bikes to Sandy’s house, have a soda or a snack and return home
• Pack a care package to mail anywhere in the world to a friend or relative (I have friends who serve in the military overseas, so even that would count if you are so inclined). You can spend up to $25 of my money on the contents of the package
• Meet me for a picnic lunch that you pack, at Goose Egg Park
• Walk to visit me at my office for 15 minutes
• Clean up my gmail inboxes
• Clean my closet and room (without reading any papers or invading my privacy)
• Write a one-page letter to someone you care about, tell them why they’re special, why you care about them and how they’ve positively impacted your life. Give it to me in a sealed envelope (I won’t read it) and then we will mail it
• Make a summer of 2017 photo album -- pics of friends, family, nature, places, people, whatever
• Create a playlist for me to play music of good songs (somehow) in my car. Songs you like or songs that you think I might like
• Bake a dessert and deliver it to someone as a gift (like our awesome neighbors Rick and Diane, or the staff at NAMI, or whomever you decide to bake for)
• Write a 4- to 5- sentence paragraph to your sibling saying what you like about them -- no insults. Give them this present. I won’t read it
• Walk to Dairy Queen on Broadway
• Get a treat from the ice cream truck
• Compliment a stranger
• Take photos of each other and yourselves for grandma and grandpa’s Christmas calendar
• Bring the cats for a walk :)! Kidding, people, I am KIDDING with this one
• Write a play or a song or a poem or a movie script
• Write a one-page business plan
• Go to a Honkers game
• Plan a day trip to Hudson, Wis.
• Call any of your grandparents to talk to them for at least 15 minutes
• Write your favorite past teacher of all time a thank you card. I won’t read it. Send it
• Put the photos from the photo basket into photo albums (without cutting up any of the pictures!)
• Do a puzzle
• Play board games together for at least 45 minutes
• Get the mail
• Water the front stoop plant
• Fill all the empty water bottles
• Meet friends at the RAC, Henry
• Play soccer golf, Henry
• Play real golf, Henry
• Prepare questions for and converse with my friend Megan about paying your for your own college, Margaret
• Schedule something to do on June 22 when Henry and I are gone, Margaret
• Replant the kitchen window sill plant into a larger pot with fresh dirt, Margaret

Renee Berg is a freelance writer, founder of Tomorrow's Boss. Inc., and marketing & development director at NAMI SE MN. She's also the mom to two cool teenagers and you can find her on Facebook.