THE SWEET SPOT OF SUMMER
Summer has arrived (in the northern hemisphere), the annual summer vacation planning is underway, the Pinterest boards are open, and I think we all feel that inevitable itch to get away.
But here's what I've been thinking about: there's a big difference between getting away and choosing to explore.
I mean, we've all been there — counting down the days until vacation because life, work, responsibility is just too much. The routine has become a prison. The weekend can't come fast enough, let alone that week in August that’s been circled on the calendar for months.
That kind of vacation is medicine. And sometimes we need medicine. But also, we need to order our lives so that vacation can be a celebration of curiosity rather than a desperate gasp for air. The best vacations are the ones we take because we want to experience something new. When home feels good but adventure calls anyway.
There's a moment that happens to me even on the best trips, toward the end, when I start missing my own bed. Not because the trip is bad, but because home is a place worth missing. My own pillow. My morning routine. My dogs. The way sun sparkles on my pool and casts reflections on my wall.
When vacation becomes a happy interruption to a life you actually enjoy,rather than the only bright spot in an otherwise dim year — well, friends, that's when you know you've built something special.
So, here's my invitation for this summer season.
Book the trip. Take the weekend getaway. Sleep under different stars and eat all the food and make new memories.
But also, notice what you missed about home, and when you get back, protect those things.
And as you unpack and start the laundry, think about what might change if you focused as much energy on crafting your everyday life as you do on planning those getaways. What would make Monday mornings feel like potential instead of punishment? What if your daily routine included micro adventures like a new order at the coffee shop, or a different route home, a stop at that new store that opened, a walk outside after lunch…?
Because at the end of the day, the most enviable life isn't one of constant escape. It's one where vacation is simply another beautiful note in an already perfect song.