Every June, I make the same promise to myself.<\/p>\n
This is going to be the summer.<\/strong><\/p>\n The summer where I slow down. Read more books. Watch more sunsets. Eat juicy peaches over the kitchen sink. Take evening walks with Hilly. Put my phone away more often. Become the kind of woman who is ready to say YES to adventure at any given moment.<\/p>\n And then\u2026<\/p>\n Somehow it\u2019s August.<\/p>\n The calendar fills itself up. Work doesn\u2019t magically stop because it\u2019s sunny outside. The laundry still needs folding. Emails still come in. Before I know it, I\u2019m ordering beds, desks and dressers for my son\u2019s new house at school while wondering where July disappeared.<\/p>\n Tell me I\u2019m not the only one.<\/p>\n A few summers ago, I was sitting on my back deck on one of those perfect July evenings. You know the kind. The air was finally warm enough after another long Canadian winter. The birds were still singing well past dinner. The sky was beginning to turn that gorgeous golden color photographers call \u201cgolden hour.\u201d<\/p>\n I had stepped outside to enjoy it\u2026 but instead, I decided to get a head start on Monday\u2019s blog post, and started writing on my computer.<\/p>\n When I finally looked up, the sunset was over.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t some dramatic movie moment. There were no violins playing in the background. But I remember thinking something that has stayed with me ever since:<\/p>\n This is the life I\u2019ve been waiting for all winter\u2026 and I\u2019m not actually living it.<\/strong><\/p>\n That moment changed the way I think about summer.<\/p>\n Because I\u2019ve realized something over the years. We don\u2019t usually miss summer because we\u2019re lazy or because we don\u2019t appreciate it.<\/p>\n We miss it because we\u2019re so busy trying to optimize it.<\/strong><\/p>\n We create bucket lists. We pressure ourselves to make magical family memories. We compare our weekends to everyone else\u2019s Instagram highlight reel. We chase the perfect vacation, the perfect weather, the perfect barbecue, the perfect photo.<\/p>\n Somewhere along the way, we\u2019ve turned the season that\u2019s supposed to feel the freest into another thing to perform. Or master to perfection.<\/p>\n So this year, I\u2019m trying something different.<\/p>\n Instead of asking how I can do<\/em> more this summer, I\u2019m asking how I can actually experience<\/em> more of it.<\/p>\n Here are five simple shifts that I\u2019m practicing\u2014and maybe they\u2019ll help you enjoy your summer a little more, too.<\/p>\n One of the greatest thieves of joy is the pressure to make every moment count.<\/p>\n Ironically, that\u2019s exactly what keeps us from enjoying the moment we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n Research has shown that our happiness depends less on how extraordinary our experiences are and more on how present <\/strong>we are while we\u2019re having them. Presence, not perfection, is what our brains remember.<\/p>\n That means your nervous system doesn\u2019t necessarily know the difference between sipping coffee on a balcony in Italy and sipping coffee on your own front porch\u2026 if you\u2019re actually present for it.<\/p>\n What if this summer wasn\u2019t about creating the perfect memories?<\/p>\n What if it was simply about noticing the ones already happening?<\/p>\n The kids laughing in the backyard.<\/p>\n The smell of sunscreen.<\/p>\n The first bite of fresh corn (my fave!)<\/p>\n The sound of the sprinklers coming on.<\/p>\n These aren\u2019t interruptions to life.<\/p>\n They are<\/em><\/strong> life.<\/p>\n Our brains love novelty.<\/p>\n In fact, neuroscience tells us that trying something new can boost dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with motivation, learning, curiosity, and pleasure.<\/p>\n Notice I didn\u2019t say expensive.<\/p>\n I said new.<\/p>\n Take a different walking route.<\/p>\n Try pickleball if you\u2019ve never played. (Fair warning: you may become one of those people who suddenly owns four paddles and talks about \u201cthe kitchen.\u201d Ask me how I know.)<\/p>\n Have breakfast outside instead of at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n Watch the sunrise one morning.<\/p>\n Take the scenic drive home.<\/p>\n Sometimes we\u2019re waiting for vacation to wake us up.<\/p>\n But often it\u2019s novelty, not travel<\/strong>, that makes life feel rich.<\/p>\n And while we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s retire one of the longest-running marital conversations of all time:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want to watch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026 what do you<\/em> want to watch?\u201d<\/p>\n Thirty-five minutes later, you\u2019ve watched absolutely nothing except the Netflix menu.<\/p>\n Go outside instead.<\/p>\n One of the most underrated wellness tools is completely free.<\/p>\n Sunlight.<\/p>\n Morning natural light helps regulate our circadian rhythm, which improves sleep quality, supports mood, balances cortisol, and even boosts daytime energy. Better sleep also means greater emotional well-being, better focus, and more patience- which, if you\u2019re parenting through summer vacation, deserves a standing ovation.<\/p>\n1. Stop Trying to Optimize Every Moment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. Add More Novelty to Ordinary Days<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Let Nature Do Some of the Heavy Lifting<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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