For many of us, summer vacation is one of the lost loves of our childhood. With weeks of blissful freedom – from school, responsibilities and layers of clothing – it was easy to slow down, relax and have fun.
How do we recapture that wild abandon and reconnect to our inner child? How do we access that level of relaxation and joie de vivre?
Well, here’s a start:
Make a list of your favorite summer activities. It could be things you remember from childhood that were fun and enjoyable, or just activities that you love to do in the summer, or have always wanted to do. It could be as simple as walking barefoot in the grass, or going fishing, to floating down the river on an inner-tube or going to outdoor concert.
So go ahead. Make that list. Need some help? Google ‘best summer activities’ and peruse the different websites and blogs. Get some ideas, and write them down.
Then, take that list, and put the activities INTO your calendar. Maybe find an outdoor concert at Tanglewood or a local venue and buy tickets. (I just booked Jackson Browne for July 4th!) Plan a hike in the White Mountains for a weekend with your friends. Plan a BBQ and invite over your favorite people. Get tickets for a PawSox or RedSox game, book a weekend at a campsite by a river, find a local music or arts festival and commit to going. (And of course, call your massage therapist and book a rejuvenating treatment into your schedule as well!)
And then create a list of things to do that requires little to no planning: like a walk in Ashland or Hopkinton State Park, an evening drive to your favorite ice cream locale, a Drive-In Movie, a visit to a waterpark or kayaking/canoeing on the Charles.
The list is endless, but if you don’t write it down and plan your fun into your busy schedule, the summer will speed by without you. Get excited for summer, and all of the things that make you feel young and grateful to be alive. Take time to smell the roses and feel the earth move under your feet.
So go ahead, and write down that list. Why not do it now?