It’s summer! It is a very exciting time with the warmth of sun and friendship blending to create a haven. “Let’s do some crazy stuff in the sun!” said Adrian. Let’s grab our buddies and go on adventures and take chances with the people we love and the people who put up with us during all the cold months when we just wanted to eat soup and cling to the idiot box.
Summer is for fun, and for friends. Sometimes we end up doing the same things over and over and keep hoping for a light bulb moment when we will have that ideal, adventurous rendezvous which we will remember when we are centenarians and which will be frozen on our Facebook/Instagram profiles and we would share with our great-grandchildren. Here’s a short little list of some super-fun buddy dates which I came up in a brainstorming session with my friends who are all poles apart and hence come up with unusual stuffs –the mundane activity of one turns into an adventure for the other.
Picnic in the backyard
“Picnics are fun and romantic cried Megan.” Buddy picnics mean you can pack in all your favorite foods and not have to worry about whether or not you have mayonnaise dripping on your chin or ants crawling up your leg. You can lay back in the sun and talk about all the things you’ve been worried about or excited about or confused about because buddy picnics lead to a lot of honest buddy talk and usually a quality hug at the end when you’re wrapping up and shaking off the blanket. Buddy picnics are also a great time to watch colorful flowers growing in the backyard and adorable squirrels skipping around. We agreed on one condition Megan gets her classic cheesecake for us. She winked smilingly.
The classic movie, popcorn and beer get-together
Donna suggested the classic movie and popcorn outing. Everyone sighed. Steve said “It’s the usual, what’s adventurous in it? What if we create our own drive-in theatre in the park? I had this huge screen and projector. We could pack in some popcorn, beer and cushions. “Everyone loves a rom-com,” I said. “No,” yelped Kate, “this time it’s going to be a horror movie!” Peals of laughter and nods followed as we all gave our consent.
Swimming and snorkeling in the lake
Remember wearing the flippers, snorkeling masks and swimming gears and diving in the water to explore the underwater world. It’s amazing to indulge in water sports be it rowing, rafting or water skiing and laugh your heart out with friends. Aaliyah pined to revisit Lake George, the Queen of all American lakes and go for a swim and snorkel. We all agreed to this one unanimously as we all love being in the water during summertime. It’s thrilling.
The beach fun
We love hitting the beach not just for soaking in the sea or lying on the sand but enjoying the foot massage and activities together. Irina is keen on practicing her knowledge on reflexology and we love being her guinea pigs. The girls enjoy nail art and boys fly the drones together. We wiggle our toes in the sand. It’s awesomeness to the peak when we are with friends relaxing and having fun at the same time. The beach is the best! There’s sand and sun and a huge beautiful ocean in front of you that wants to play with you. Take lots of pictures and write names in the sand together… the wave will erase them from the sand but etch it forever in your heart.
A nice hike outside is pretty chill
There is something remarkably beautiful about friends exploring nature together and letting the flowers and the trees and whatever else you find on hikes interrupt the monotony and reorganize all your priorities to account for the pretty things this world has to offer. Hikes bond people.
Let the music play
I suggested creating a gang playlist wherein everyone could add their favorite music. It would be the best and craziest playlist ever with Donna adding the jazz and Adrian adding in the hard rock. We could compare our taste in music and enjoy the mash-up created by us. From Rihana’s love songs to Atom Smash we are going to have it all. “Play it on the shuffle mode and get surprised.” said Irina. We all grinned at the possibility.
Croon like a rock band singer in a karaoke showdown
You don’t really know someone until you see them do karaoke. What song will they choose? What dance will they do? There are so many questions that need answers! Karaoke is a lot of fun, and if you have your buddy cheering for you and picking out duet, you’re guaranteed to have a memorable evening. If you want to push the envelope a little further you could dress in matching outfits.
Crafting a vision board together
It is amazing to sit down in the living room with a pile of colorful, glossy magazines ranging from sports to fashion, a pair of scissors and glue to create your own dream-journey of life. It’s fun to randomly create a visual montage of your desires along with friends. “It lets you know your friend inside-out besides creating a design of your life” suggested Steve who is an inspirational trainer along with being an IT expert.
Thrift shop shopping and enjoying with the savings in the elder care home
We get some exciting deals at thrift stores but more than that it’s fun at times to say goodbye to the brands we are married to and save some pennies to enjoy later in the elder care home and bring smiles on the furrowed faces along with your buddies. This was my wise friend Fred’s idea and we loved it the best. Irina said, “why do we need to save money for this we can do it anyways.” To this Fred replied, best aid is when you sacrifice something valuable for the cause you stand for. We decided to go for shopping together at the thrift stores which run for charity to gather overlooked antiques and collectibles to give to each other for keepsake on the friendship day and then collect the money we save to throw a summer party at the elder care home where Fred’s old man lives. He is suffering from dementia and Fred visits him often.
I hope you’ll invite your favorite people and have a lot of summer fun and make a lot of memories too along with your friends.
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