Destination 30

I may not have any long standing traditions running in my family, but I am a very ritualistic person. I like my routine: my daily Pinterest habit, my evening snack, I even like to grocery shop on a certain day. More than anything though, I like to enjoy the different seasons by doing certain ritualistic activities.

Everyone probably has their Christmas rituals: the music, the decorations, maybe even holiday movies. I enjoy ringing in the “holiday season” starting in October and counting down to Halloween. My best friend and I both believe you an smell Halloween coming! It’s pure excitement for cooler weather, costumes, decorations and gift giving. And then there is the welcoming of summer…

Growing up you start to realize that certain things that held wonder and awe start to loose their magic. The daily grind gets to you, putting up decorations can seem more laborious than festive, and logic rules out on all of the mystical beings that use to parade around in your imagination. For me, sometime in late college, and the year after when I got my first apartment with Quinton, I started to feel the loss of the holiday seasons and it made me sad. It wasn’t until my daughters were born that a little excitement started to creep back in, but I found that I still needed to kick start my brain to get out of the day-to-day and into the season.

For me, more than anything else, movies are the trick. I have Halloween movies, and Christmas movies and yes, even Summer movies that bring back memories and, even if only for a moment, make me feel the holidays or the change of seasons more so than certain foods or even smells. Especially now that I am working during what would normally be my summer vacation I needed the mental push to experience the time of year aside from melting in the Texas heat.

I know they may be cheesy, but some of these I have watched for years, so here is my summer movie viewing list:

1. Back to the Future (the trilogy)
2. The Mummy (don’t ask me why, maybe it’s the desert)
3. The Mummy Returns (even better than the first)
4. Grease (you just can’t beat that movie)
5. Something’s Gotta Give (chick flick at the beach)
6. French Kiss (If I can’t go anywhere, I will let the movies take me there)
7. Wedding Crashers (funny, Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams, need I say more)
8. Eurotrip (laughed so hard I cried the first time, and you can’t beat Matt Damon guest starring as a bald punk band bad boy)
9. Stardust (adventurous, fantastical and quirky)
10. Pirates of the Caribbean (any or all 3!)

There may have been some that I forgot, but that is the usual list. Do you have any to add for summer fun? What are some rituals that help you hang onto childhood magic?