Summer Challenge!

Who doesn't love a good challenge, right? :) It's a proven fact that people achieve their goals, challenges, etc. much faster and more efficiently if they are working towards the goal with a friend, or two friends, or lots of friends. And so today I'm posing a challenge to all of you, but it's actually coming from my own goals. As I've mentioned before, I grew up in this community, but I feel like I could really get out there and do more to be involved and to be more familiar with our city and the surrounding area.

Here's the deal...I am challenging myself to do 10 things this summer (AKA before my baby arrives!) that will get me and my family more acquainted with our lovely hometown. My challenge to you is to do the same--not necessarily the same 10 things, but I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone, to pay more attention to the people in your daily life, and to grow to love your community!

Sara's Summer Challenge:

1. Get to know my neighbors. Do any of you have neighbors that you've never even talked to? We do, too. We have lived in our house for two years now, and we've only gotten together with our neighbors once. This should change! I'm challenging myself to invite some of them over for dinner...at least one time before the summer is up!

2. Visit the library. Now, this is something my boys and I already do, but I know we could do it more, and I really want them to love their library (remember the great post from my Aunt Kathy about loving your library?!). I'm challenging us to go to story time, check out some more books, and see what else the local libraries have to offer this summer.

3. Go to some new parks. I say "some" instead of a number, because I know this will be an easy challenge for us. My boys love the park--any park. A while back, a friend posted on the Quad City Moms Blog about some of our great local parks (www.quadcitymomsblog.com), and there were a couple on the list that we haven't visited. Those will be our first priority! Who doesn't love a good afternoon at the park? With or without kids, our local parks are something we really should not take for granted.

4. Buy local. If you know me, you know where I shop: Wal-Mart. And that's about it. Sad to say, but the main reason I do that is because it's easier--one stop shopping, as they say. However, in the summer when I'm not working, I'm really going to try and put some of my money into our local economy. The Farmer's Market, for example, is a great opportunity to see some of the wonderful local vendors and to support them in their endeavors. Small business owning is one of the hardest jobs on earth, and we as customers should keep that in mind! We have been to the market a couple times this summer, and I'd also like to find time to visit some of our local shops, bakeries, etc.

5. Eat out. This is something that Matt and I rarely do, and I'm actually OK with that. But, at the same time, I feel like we are so out of the loop about our town. When people are visiting and they ask us for suggestions for dinner, we only have a couple good answers, because we only go to the same couple places every time we get out of the house! I hope that this summer we can find the time to visit a couple restaurants that we haven't visited before...it's a great way to see a new side of the community, to interact with people, and of course to eat good food!

6. Go to church. It seems like so many people miss out on church during the summer months. It's a busy time for families, and we aren't in as much of a routine as we are during the "school year" (even if we aren't in school it seems!). I will admit to this myself, too. But my challenge to myself is to change that...my boys love going to Sabbath School, and it's my job to get them there. And it's another good way to keep connected with people in our community as well.

7. Visit some tourist sites. This is a good challenge to give ourselves, because we don't often visit the tourist sites in our own towns, for obvious reasons. But why not check them out? By doing so, we can teach our little ones about their home town, and most likely learn a little bit ourselves, too. And again, going to these places and supporting them financially only adds to our communities.

8. Pay it forward. After buying local and visiting some parks and tourist sites, I really want to focus on passing the word along and sharing our experiences with others. Obviously, my way of doing that is this blog! But if you are doing this challenge with me, just share with your friends when you talk to them...tell them the places you've been, why you liked them, etc. You just never know how much business you might be sending to a small business owner in your area, and they would really appreciate that!

9. Make the blog more interactive. Again, if you don't have a blog, this probably doesn't pertain to you. (Although you could make yourself a challenge to start a blog!) Anyhow...I'd really like to start hearing more feedback from all of the great people who have been reading this blog. I'd like to do some surveys, some interactive posts with your comments, etc. So if you are reading this today...post a comment! Either on here or on our facebook page (search for "The Good" on Facebook). Hearing from all of you is the most rewarding part of doing this blog...plus we are forming our own little community here at "The Good", and I think it's a great community to be a part of!

10. Take a different route. I'm ending with a super easy challenge, to make us feel like we really can accomplish all of this! :) This last challenge is to take a different route--to work, to church, to the grocery store. Instead of taking the same streets you always take, force yourself to make a couple turns, to "take the scenic route" (even if it's not even that scenic!) I want to do this challenge for a couple reasons...the first, is obviously related to the community. It's amazing how many parts of our own city we have never seen...I've learned that through garage-saling! :) Another reason I want to "take a different route" is that I've read it can really help our brains and strengthen them against dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. Always taking the same route and following the same routine can make us unaware of our surroundings, which brings me to the last reason I want to do challenge #10...it's scary to even think of, but we hear those stories about moms (or dads) who drive to work and forget that their kids are in the backseat. When you hear the story, you think "how could anyone ever do that?" But I am the first to admit, there was one day this year when I had my boys in the back seat and instead of turning on the road to my aunt's daycare, I kept right on driving towards work. I made it about 5 or 6 minutes down the road before I realized, and when I did, I was scared to death. Not to end the challenge on a bad note, but let's just start taking a different route, keeping our brains active! :)

Think you can complete your own list of summer challenges? Make them to fit your life. Maybe you are already involved in your community, and you feel the need to focus on a different area of your life. I'm sure I could make 100 lists of challenges and still need to do more! But for now I'm starting with this, and so for our Friday "look for the good in your community", take the time to make a list of things you could do in your own corner of the world, and challenge yourself to complete it! And please...keep me posted on your progress! You know I will be updating you on mine!

Happy Friday!