I don’t know about you, but I want to soak up as much summer as I can. I mean, really, I was at the grocery store yesterday and ALL the pumpkin spice stuff was out. NOOOOO! (Don’t tell anyone, but I actually turned around two cereal boxes in a small protest). There are SO many barriers to celebrating summer! Here are mine:

• Work, meetings, & travel – oh my!
• Rodeos
• Yard work
• Curriculum planning
• Obligations…

What are yours? 

So, I’ve made a commitment to myself to focus on small steps of achievements for the month of August versus grandiose events. Here are some examples:

• First drink of coffee with NO multi-tasking – just looking out my window and breathing
• Take myself to dinner while traveling for work
• Explore a new city while I’m there with a short 30-minute walk to soak in Vitamin Sunshine!
• Call someone I love when I’m driving somewhere, just to check-in
• Sing with my son while we do yard work – yesterday’s song: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
• Find little spots to explore while we’re at rodeos – my husband and I visited Abacela Winery when we were at a youth rodeo
• I’m only doing work on weekends when I must, then out into the sunshine
• Say YES to dinners and outings with friends, mid-week, because the sun doesn’t set until 9:30 in Oregon. Yay!
• Make work more fun by heading to Alena’s house to have a shared working space
• Yes, to margaritas
• Yes, to star gazing 
• Yes, to facetiming my daughter at college
• Yes, to county fairs and corn dogs
• Yes, to time at the lake

Friends, what are some small things you can do to celebrate summer? 

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