What are you doing this summer? Any summer plans? Do you find the days flying by?

I don’t know about you, but I cannot believe that it is July already. I still have a winter to-do list that I haven’t finished. A woman from church said that her husband sent her a photo last week of a store that was putting out Halloween items already. That is just wrong. Although, once this weekend is over (Fourth of July), the back-to-school items will begin to fill the shelves.

Summer is a good time to make some plans lest the time flies by and we discover in the fall that we haven’t done anything that we wanted. But it is also a good time to give ourselves permission to “do nothing”. To savor the summer and whatever activity we find ourselves doing. I love the word savor. Besides the definitions related to taste and smell it also means “to delight in.” Just saying the word seems to slow down the mind and view whatever one is savoring in a new light.

I am trying to savor my time. To be present and in the moment. But I have to really work on it. I am not good at savoring. I struggle with always feeling that I have to be “productive” and thinking what is next on the agenda. I am trying to learn to allow time to unfold as it will.

When I do savor the time, I find I am much more relaxed and the experience is much more meaningful. For instance, I have been swimming for exercise this summer. (Very generous neighbors allow me to swim in their beautiful pool. I tell my husband I am heading to “The Club” because it is even nicer than any club pool setting.)

But instead of just checking “the exercise box” each time I swim, I am trying to intentionally enjoy, “to delight in” the whole experience: the water on my skin, the beautiful setting of the pool and backyard, the blue sky and the birds chirping around me. I find my mind wanders and I think of different things. Savoring allows me to process and create. It gets me out of feeling like I am in a rut and reactivates my mind. It slows me down and lets me appreciate my surroundings. When I walk home, I feel that I have been restored.

Some ideas for savoring the summer :

Take a digital break: whether it is for a weekend (yikes!), day or 1/2 day, see if you can manage your day like it was 1988- pre-world wide web.
Pack some water, a snack, a good book, a blanket or chair, or even better, one of those portable nylon hammocks and find some shade in a nearby park/beach/wooded area. Read for at least an hour. Although if you are like me, you will more than likely have a nap rather than a reading session.
Meander through an art museum- let the beauty of the subjects speak to you.
Peruse some periodicals in your local library. Read the ones that aren’t “highbrow” unless you really want to.
Teach a young person how to play jacks, marbles, the card game “War” or any other childhood games.
On a rainy day- work on a puzzle, crossword or watch an old movie. Click here for the 50 Best Classic Movies (or so says Town and Country Magazine.)
Write a short-story. Click here to find 52 prompts.
Find a pad and pen and doodle. See what words, ideas, or pictures form on your page.
Plan a meal from the bounty of a local farmers’ market.
Simplify your schedule. Leave an evening free to sit outdoors- see if you can find any lightening bugs or watch a meteor shower. Click here for a calendar of meteor showers in 2025.

What about you? Any thoughts/plans for this summer? Are you planning to “not plan”? How can you savor the moments whatever they might be- whether it is a longtime in the making planned trip or a spontaneous day off?

This is the summer to savor.