Wake Up, It Is Summertime!

And our hibernation period has once again come to an end and it is time to wake up and face the world!  This is how I feel each year at the end of June as we head into the summer months.  From September onward, our lives feel focused on what ends up being indoor-based activities, children off at school and preparing for the winter ahead.  While we have some semblance of a social life, once the summer comes along, our activity levels go up significantly.  Whether it is celebrating Independence Day (including the nearest weekend), graduations, parties, vacations and other social outings enjoying the warm weather, our calendar, and therefore our time, becomes very full.  This is truly a great time of the year.  The difficulty, however, becomes managing, or better put, prioritizing, our time.

I know that during the year, between spending time with my family, work, volunteering as an officer at our Jewish Center, Toastmasters, playing in a band and my social life, the months tend to be very full.  There does seem to be a certain rhythm to the weeks, as most of the activities fall into some type of cycle.  In between, I am able to take on some of the things that constitute personal development, which include reading and writing.  I understand quite well that I should not confuse activity with productivity.  I am happy to be busy and pursue the things that are important to me so that I can achieve my personal goals.  Once June comes along, I look forward to the summer related activities we choose to do.  However, this time of year throws off the balance of what I am able to accomplish.  For example, this was the first year that I missed our town fireworks.  Having a 3-day holiday weekend means more opportunities to be with family and friends. In the midst of planning the weekend, I began to realize that some of my weekly goals would be putting a crunch on my social time.  At the end of the weekend, I realized that I had to prioritize which activities had to be accomplished; as much as I enjoy the fireworks, they were not the priority.

 

As my girls were growing up, I have watched as each year they looked forward to their summer vacation from school.  Even though I do not have the same type of vacation any more, the way we look towards the summertime has not changed.  There is still some measure of vacation time in the pull of the warm weather, swimming in a pool and being outdoors that never seems to leave us.  We cannot stick our head in the ground and put our obligations on hold for 3 months (as much as we would like to), but we need to be diligent on how we spend our time.  I hope that everyone has a great summer, maximizing your enjoyment of this season with your goals!