Second Cup: Keep your summer spirit

0:03Speaker 1:Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to keep your summer spirit. Even if September signals the end of summer, the best parts of summer can stay with you all year long. So I recently encountered the phrase summer spirit while reading Laura Lisa's new book, Beach Life. As her family neared their beach community, one of her daughters remarked that I can feel my summer spirit.

0:46Speaker 1:The little girl described that it feels like happiness and brightness and it's wild. I love this image. I think many of us harbor some sort of summer spirit in our psychees too. In adulthood, summer isn't necessarily all that different from the rest of the year. We still have to work, we still have to handle our household responsibilities. But if you grew up with extended periods of time off from school, the season just feels different. It feels more relaxed, but also a little untamed. Labor Day in the US tends to mean the end of the summer season.

1:34Speaker 1:Even so, I think it's possible to keep a summer spirit. It just means asking what would make life feel full of happiness and brightness and perhaps a little wild. Maybe it means taking a last minute weekend trip to visit a friend sometime and thus squeezing a little extra bit of vacation into a busy schedule. Maybe it means eating a picnic. Plenty of fall days are still lovely, so why not have dinner on the porch. Maybe it's doing something you've never tried before, or trying to spend more time outside. The good news, well, and the bad news too, is that time keeps passing, and so before we know it, it will be summer again. Perhaps come next June that sense of summer possibility will on its own just reappear.

2:36Speaker 1:But even as the weather gets colder and the days get darker, now the wildness of summer doesn't have to dwindle to nothing. Just ask what would add happiness and brightness to ordinary days. If you embrace those adventures, then you will probably be on a good track. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.