Shed a Little Light
Regardless of job or age, summer seems to be the time when we all experience some change of schedule. If you are an educator or student, the welcome nine weeks away from the classroom gives you the chance to rest and rejuvenate. If you have children and work continues, you have to shuffle childcare, find camps or Vacation Bible Schools, and hopefully find time for a quick vacation. Summer vibes roll differently.
As I have done in the past when approaching the summer months, let me challenge you to do just a bit of homework these next few weeks. Even if your work schedule continues without interruption, a little change in routine can be healthy for body and mind.
Read or listen to one biography. We learn from the lives of others—their failures, their triumphs, their habits.
Teddy Roosevelt has been on my mind a lot lately. Right now, there is a very well done documentary on his life on Netflix, with historians narrating. He’s my guy this summer.
Write at least one letter a week to a famous person or a friend or a family member. A handwritten note is becoming more and more rare, but it never loses its power to make someone feel appreciate or loved. It also means you’ll be supporting your local post office by buying some stamps. If you travel, send postcards to people.
Rest. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be in bed sleeping, but it can be as simple as relaxing on the couch, sitting in the lawn chair under a tree in the evening, or taking an afternoon nap if possible.
If your job goes through the summer, find a way to work in the vacation that truly can be relaxing for you and the family, not necessarily packed with gogo- go activities every minute.
If you can make it to the mountains with cool air or the beach and lake with water, these are settings that can refresh you.
De-cluttering is a fine summer activity. You may have accumulated some things that just need to be donated, trashed, or sold. Let your kids help with the choices of what might could be re-used in a day care facility or what clothes they have outgrown that could be used by other children.
Grow a garden. It’s not easy in our area with the water situation, but the process of planting and caring for fruits and vegetables that will land on your table is an education.
A small backyard plot is still plenty of room for squash beds or tomato plants. One of my greatest regrets is that I only did this one summer in my life, with corn and black-eyed peas and okra and squash. My mother made preserves from apricots and peaches, and I do wish I had paid more attention. Maybe your local 4-H has a program for this, or you can find someone in your community who will share these skills with you.
As I normally do, I will take a break from this column until after Labor Day. A work trip to Virginia and a family visit in North Carolina are on tap. Housesitting for family and friends will provide nice breaks, and swimming with grandchildren on hot summer days will keep me active.
All the while, I’ll also include some of the list above as homework for what I hope is a safe and productive June, July, and August.
Until then, remember we are here for such a short time on this earth. Make the most of it.