M. Suzanne Terry

I think Sunday Me was a little overwhelmed at this week/weekend’s calendar.

After about a month and a half of being back in the office, I am settling into old routines. I’m getting used to commuting again (I forgot how much audiobook listening I get to do when I drive more often). I’m also relearning how to balance social time with colleagues and task time while on the clock (I tend to lean too heavily toward task and neglect the social). I sorta forgot how to people in person.

Some of the old routines that are creeping back up need to stay gone, though. Procrastinating housework and fun things until the weekend so much that my to-do list is so long by the time it arrives that I don’t ever actually slow down to rest is a habit that I could stand to keep in the past. My tendency to say yes whenever possible (so that people will be happy? so that I can pride myself on fitting another piece into my puzzle of a schedule? who even knows why?) needs a tighter leash when I can’t do everything from home.

I need to remember to guard my down time a little more consistently so that I maintain the restfulness I need to function well. Sometimes this looks like relaxing plans with friends (relaxing plans = not in public, maybe in a pool or with drinks, maybe we just read in the same room) but mostly it looks like actual alone time where I can nap or read or create or even do some repetitive/regular household task without interruption.

I also am having my regular jealousy about other people’s summers where they are free to go do things while my schedule remains busy, but this year I am making myself free to do some things, too, even though this is not typically an easy time of the year for that to happen at my job. I want to do at least one summery thing each week, even if it’s something small. This week, I got to swim, and that was nice (don’t remember the last time I swam but my swimsuit definitely no longer fit so it must have been quite a long time ago). I look forward to my first snow cone and first really good peach of the season, too. That’s as far as I’ve gotten on my “favorite things about summer” list. That list is super short. I’m not summer’s biggest fan, but I’m determined to squeeze whatever joy I can out of it.

Shameless crowdsourcing – What are your favorite things to do in the summer?