Feels Like Summer

It is mid-June and here in Georgia, it has already been as hot and steamy as August, but I still love it. Summer is my favorite Season. While it feels like summer already, the official first day is Tuesday. So, I’ve been thinking about summer. l’ve been remembering all of the reasons I love this time of year, the things that make it feel like summer, and how to create that I feeling and make the most of the next short months.

I plan to be really intentional about this summer. I think a lot of us have said that in the past, but I think it’s time to be a little more serious about our time, how we spend it, and especially how we savor it. I hope you will be too. I don’t want either of us rolling into September 1 and wondering where the time went, why we didn’t take advantage of these long days or regretting not taking the time to do the things to make it feel like the summer we want.

Here are some of the things I’ve been thinking about doing to Feel Like Summer. . .

Get Outside As Much As Possible.

One of the best things about this time of year is the longer days. For me, getting outside as much as possible is my most favorite thing and makes it feel like summer. As long as it is outside, it can be doing (or not doing) any and all things. This may come from my being forced to “go outside and play” during the summer days or on other days, beginning at dawn spending the day in the gardens picking, pulling or cutting all the vegetables and fruits and berries, followed by the whole process of shucking, shelling, snapping, and prepping the vegetables for the canning plant or whatever other method my mom had for “putting up” that day’s garden haul.

Walk, water plants, feel the sun on your face, arms and legs, drink ice water, sit on your front stoop, grow things outside (especially tomatoes), take after dinner walks during the golden hour or at the close of the day. That is such a lovely summertime feel. (It’s also good for your blood sugar!).

Loosening Schedules

Unwinding tight schedules may mean different things depending on what we do, what season of life we are in, and how our day and time is typically scheduled. If this means leaving a pile of laundry, then leave it. If it means forgetting bedtime to watch a movie with the kids, by all means do it. If, like me, you are an empty nester, it could mean making a quick, and cool salad or smoothie for dinner and calling it good. Saying no to that extra “to do” so you can watch the lightening bugs or read an extra page or watch a little more baseball. . .

Schedule Downtime

Isn’t that what summer is all about? A slower pace, pockets of time that are unscheduled, empty and let you linger a little.

When my boys were little this was one of my favorite parts of the summer. Every day we had scheduled quiet time. The boys would each go to their rooms for summertime reading. I would head to the screen porch with my own book and it was a wonderful break during the middle of the day. Sometimes we would take the quiet time out of the house. I’d load all of the boys up and haul them to the library where it was cool and quiet and we would have our hour of downtime at separate spaces in the midst of the books.

Speaking of reading, if you have children, you know all about the school’s summer reading list. Two things about this. First of all, while I’m a HUGE proponent of reading and summer reading, I wasn’t always on board with all of the mandatory reading that came my boys’ way. I read most of the books they were reading so we could discuss. However, in addition, I had my own Brooks Reading List that I proclaimed were required reading. There are just some books that every person should read . . .

These days I might not be able to declare reading time during the middle of the weekday, but I am planning regular, intentional time for summer reading, whether it’s at night, (instead mindless scrolling), early morning or creating weekend time.

Be Bored

Don’t you remember being bored when you were growing up? I definitely do. I may have hated it then, but now I’m a big fan of boredom. This is the time when your brain can take a break, it can relax and get creative. Allowing yourself to be a little bored gives your brain space to think, come up with ideas and get energized. All those days you spent lying in the grass, looking at the clouds? You weren’t wasting time being bored. You were creating and forming plans and you were actually doing lots of good work.

These days being bored requires a bit of discipline. The pace of life we live in doesn’t allow for empty white space, much less boredom. We live in such a distracted world with too many notifications, check ins, updates and open tabs. This summer I intend make room for that empty white space and to be intentional about creating time for boredom.

Recreate Your Summers

The best way to make summer feel like a summer is to recreate those experiences - the smells, the sounds, the tastes that make it feel like summer.

Just close your eyes . . .

What are the pictures in your mind? The flashbacks? The memories? What are the smells? How did

you feel? What are the tastes?

I’ve loved some of the answers I’ve gotten on this. The sound of cicadas. . . the taste of watermelon. . . homemade ice cream. . . the ballpark hot dogs. . . the fell of a sunburn. . .being relaxed. . . the smell of fresh cut grass. . . the sound of children playing outside until dark. . . eating fresh vegetables.

It means different things to all of us. Take some of those good memories, smells, feels and think how you can recreate them.

It may be as simple as getting fresh tomatoes (or picking from those you planted) and making an old fashioned tomato sandwich, or another is having on hand a simple cucumber onion salad, it can be getting in and near the water as much as possible, it’s that feeling at the end of day of being tired, in your body from a full day of being outside, swimming, moving, and just soaking up the whole day.

Since most of us can’t be on vacation or at the beach the entire summer, we can do what we can to preserve that summer feeling, force some slowness and hold on to summer as long as possible.

I need summer to be longer so I have more time to do nothing.

Unknown.

Cheers to making your summertime feel like your summer.

Live Well!

M-D💚

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