Slowly Savoring Summer

You might recall in this post I mentioned that I have declared an objective for the days between July 18 through the end of August as SLOWLY SAVORING SUMMER. To be honest, as we speak I still have not formulated much of a plan, though I do have a few ideas of things I'd like to do.

Things like . . . .

- Lay under the night sky and look at the stars.

- Drive up to the mountains and watch the sun set.

- Spend at day at a local swimming hole.

- Go on a hike, or two. 

- Visit a waterfall.

- Go to an outdoor concert or movie.

- Shop local yard sales and thrift shops.

These are just a few of my ideas. 

But more than a list of things to "do", it is a way "to be", a mindset, I suppose. Of course there will still be bills to pay, laundry to do, meals to cook, the natural rhythm of life will, on some level, prevail. But what I am hoping for is to be more intentional about how I spend my leisure time. I want to make more time for reading, cross-stitching, crafting, watching old movies, overall, just doing more of the things I love. I have a tendency to want to cram too much into my days and often the things I really want to do never happen, so hopefully with a little thoughtful planning, I'll arrive at the end of August with a summer of wonderful experiences, accomplishments and still fee refreshed.

With that in mind, I made up a little form that I'm calling, Seven Ways To Savor Summer. My plan is to try using it the first few weeks and see how it works.

As you can see there are seven categories; Crafting, Cooking/Baking, Canning/Preserving, Reading, Movies, Time in Nature and Road Trip, as well as a place to jot down a few notes as needed. My goal is to sit down, preferrably the weekend before, and list one thing in each category that I'd like to do in the coming week. In a few of the categories I might even list two things. After that, I'll  look at my schedule and decide which day each activity would fit best. The goal is to be intentional but flexible, not allowing it to become rigid or cause me to feel like if I don't get it all done that it's a failure. These are all things I would like to do, but they are more of a suggestion than a requirement. 

I came across this "Permission Slip" recently, which became the inspiration for this idea of savoring summer.

I, _________________ give myself permission ___________________. I’m letting myself say no to __________________________________ and yes to ____________________________. It’s OK to take some time to ____________________________________________________________________________________

Nothing bad will happen if I allow myself to daydream about ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I’m finally going to __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As for me . . .

I'm giving myself permission to slowly savor summer. I'm letting myself say no to more commitments and yes to more time spent at home. It's ok to take some time to be by myself.  Nothing bad will happen if I allow myself to daydream about next years garden (this year has been a learning curve), and begin making plans for a larger flower garden.  I'm finally going to get the curtains made for the kitchen in the dining room and bathroom.

So what will you give yourself permission to do this summer? What are some ways that you could slow down and savor this lovely season? I'd love to hear your thoughts. And, if you are interested in using my form, Seven Ways To Savor Summer, you can download a copy, here.

Until then, my friends! Savor the days!

❈