How can you not love summer? The days are longer, the colors are brighter and life moves to the great outdoors. For many, summertime means the frantic pace of their everyday existence slows a bit; kids are out of school, people take vacations, traffic is lighter, and everything seems just a little easier. For me the opposite is true. Right about the time everyone else is taking that deep breath to welcome the summer respite, my life is speeding up. From May through August the pace is intense, my workload peaks and despite it all, or maybe, because of it all, I’m my happiest self.
The pattern repeats itself every year; I get so excited early in the season when our visitors start arriving that I completely lose myself in creating an environment where the people I love can relax, unplug and get a little of that down-time that seems so elusive these days. Some have made jokes about my summer “Bed and Breakfast”; but the truth is this is more of a full-service operation. From arrival to departure, all amenities are provided so our guests never have to leave home base. Food and beverage, housekeeping, fitness and recreation; it’s all-inclusive. We even upgraded our Wi-Fi a couple of years ago to accommodate the larger groups and their growing obsession for multiple devices.
Now it’s confession time. Unfortunately, around the beginning of August I’m usually worn out by it all and am desperate for a vacation of my own. The warning signs are always there but for some reason I rarely see it coming; long before my tan starts to fade it just hits me like a freight train. Sadly, despite my enthusiasm early in the season, by this point I’m usually looking for any excuse to get away. Even though summer is my favorite season, most have taken more of me than I had to give.
That is until this year; the Summer of 2017 has been completely different. There’s no denying a lot of work is necessary to pull off the level of entertaining we do every summer. Before each visit I develop a work plan and incorporate some improvements to simplify menus, streamline activity schedules and generally make life easier. What’s new this year is so ridiculously simple that I am kicking myself for having been so stubborn in the past. Here it is: I have humbly allowed everyone to help. How easy was that? They’ve been willing for years, so I finally stopped trying to pull it off all by myself. From the beginning of this summer, I’ve more readily accepted any help that’s offered and have even asked for it at times. Sounds so easy, but this really was a huge step for me and it’s been a game changer.
The other big difference is we haven’t felt the need to pack the house to the brim every single weekend. We’ve had our share of big groups, and have loved the party atmosphere, but we’ve also enjoyed a number of low-key weekends. Occasional smaller groups have been a nice change of pace during these busy months – we can all fit on one boat, sit at the same dinner table, and don’t have to trip over air mattresses when we’re taking the dog out in the morning.
The best part of it isn’t that I’m not exhausted, although that’s a pretty great thing. It’s for the first time, I’ve managed to get through a summer season without losing myself; I didn’t gain any weight or give up on my exercising or sacrifice my own fun for everyone else’s. I’ve actually enjoyed every minute of this summer; I think I had as much fun as anyone! Don’t get me wrong, it’s always been a pleasure, but the way this summer evolved has been special. As an added bonus, our bonds with family and friends grew even deeper; there was a lot of love shared this summer. And I feel tremendous satisfaction in staying true to my Chapter 3 intentions to nurture my own fitness and connections to those dearest, after falling short for so many years.
We’re expecting a new grandson in a few weeks, so after the Solar Eclipse weekend (it really doesn’t take much of an excuse for us to throw a party), I suspect it will get a lot quieter around here. The kids are already back in school and soon everyone will be consumed with tailgating and football on the weekends. We’ll be spending more time in town, as you’d expect from doting grandparents, but hopefully we’ll have a few more visitors at the lake so we can extend summer as long as possible.
I try to pause most mornings to count my blessings. As I sit here on my porch overlooking the lake and sipping a delightful cup of coffee, it’s fair to say near the top of the list right now is that I’m living a life I don’t feel the need to take a vacation from.
Ah, Pam, letting others help and do – so easy once you let go and let it happen! And I’ll bet they were happier too because they had more of you to share as well. Your adventures give me hope!
I was amazed it was so simple! Last summer, I couldn’t wait for it all to end and this year it’s completely different. I’m sitting here this morning planning this weekend’s menu and looking forward to the house filling up Friday night! Miss you, my friend!