369 Days of Summer

After two weekends in a row of catering to Parker’s every need, something that as parents we are both obligated and privileged to do, I get it – I was going insane.  Our apartment doesn’t get a whole lot of natural light, so spending an entire weekend inside because we couldn’t get our shit together in the small windows between when Parker needed to nap , eat and have his diaper change resulted in me feeling and acting a little bit batty. Can you blame me? I felt like I’d been hibernating. In summer. In Santa Monica! What the hell is that?

So after submitting my last final paper of the spring quarter, and realizing that I was officially free from doing any assignments for another three months, I did what any business student would do when she needed to make a change: I developed a strategic plan. And yes, I did it in PowerPoint. And when Jeremy and Parker got home from work, I sat them down on the couch, turned on AirPlay and projected my slides on the Apple TV. It was time to give my pitch: 369 Days of Summer.

Yes, that’s right. I am scheduled to graduate (finally!) from UCLA Anderson School of Management and Fielding School of Public Health on June 14, 2014. 369 days from June 10, 2013. It was time to stop spending the weekends indoors on account of Parker needing to nap in his crib. We live in one of the most amazing places in the entire world. Yes, I’m sorry San Francisco, but Los Angeles is a pretty amazing place, too. As Jeremy once said the first time we went to our neighborhood Santa Monica beach, “Foreign people come here.” (I think he meant that our neighborhood is an international vacation destination. At least that’s what I tell myself he meant…) Anyway, because we will likely not live in this wonderful place forever, and since it’s always summertime in LA…

Our aim? To maximize adventure in Southern California.

The objective: Starting June 10, 2013 and continuing through June 15 2014, we will embark on at least one athletic / cinematic / comedic / culinary / educational / international / natural / oenological / theatrical / ANYTHING NEW AND EXCING adventure EVERY WEEK.

We’re SMART. And so is the plan.

› Specific: Adventure = Something New

› Measurable: 1 Adventure per Week

› Achievable: Financially Friendly

› Relevant: SoCal-based

› Time-bound: June 15, 2014

Date	Event	Category	Babysitter Needed	Funds Needed
6/14	Father’s Day Weekend Dinner	Culinary	No	$50
6/15	Hike to Griffith Observatory	Athletic, Natural, Educational	No	$0
7/3	Movie: 42	Cinematic	Yes	$100*

* A good babysitter, and a few hours sitting in the dark in peace and quiet while holding hands with your husband (who is happily eating a $9 SMALL box of popcorn) is worth every penny.

Now, it is important to note that this type of “Family Fun” is a family responsibility. We each have a role to fill in order to successfully execute 369 Days of Summer.

Jeremy “Big Data” Bolton

• › Primary Role: Chief Research Officer
• Literature Reviews
• Data Analysis
• Recommendations
• › Additional Roles
• › Husband
• Father
• Breadwinner*
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Financial alignment
• Day care transport
• Taking out trash**
• › Rubbing backs

* Temporary. To be shared with Nicole upon graduation.

** Temporary. To be delegated to Parker as soon as he can reach the dumpster.

Nicole “I don’t want to be a Grumpy Pants (GP)” Bolton› 

• Primary Role: Chief Decision Officer
• Snap Judgments
•  Strategic Options
• › Next Steps Planning
• › Additional Roles
• › Wife
• › Mother
• › Graduate Student
• › Domestic Engineer*
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Goal Setting
• › Task Management
• › Feeding
• › Hugging** 

* Primary point person. Shared responsibility with family and vendors, where applicable.

** Stretch Responsibility for personal growth. Performance to be assessed by CRO.

Parker “Wild Card” Bolton

• › Chief Challenge Officer
• Testing Limits
• Pushing Boundaries
• Changing Things Up
• Additional Roles
• › Son
• Cutie
• › Key Responsibilities
• › Making people smile
• › Reminding others what’s most important
• Clearing the aisle, when possible

Now, like any deal, there is some Fine Print, if you will.

1. › Family Fun can be planned independently or jointly by the CRO and/or CDO.
2. › We strive to plan events one week in advance.
3. › Sickness of the CRO, CDO, or CCO results in automatic iTunes movie rental and placement of “take-out” order for dinner.
4. › Outsourcing CCO fun to a babysitter is encouraged once monthly; a make-up “Full Family Fun” event is required when babysitters are used.

What do you think? The pitch was well received by my “investors,” so I’m pleased. Let’s see how it goes… Adventure is out there!