Savoring the "Worst" Season
or "this too"
I was born in August, but that hasn’t been enough to overcome my hatred of summer. I don’t like being hot. I don’t like sweating. I don’t like the feeling of sunscreen on my skin. I long for the days of hot drinks, drizzly rain, and cozy sweaters. I was made for library weather, not swimming pool weather.
This year, though, I’m trying. I’m trying to truly enjoy iced lattés. I’m practicing appreciating the early morning sun across the foot of my bed. I’m reminding myself to slow down and taste the lusciousness of stone fruit at the height of its season. I’m working to find pieces of summer to savor.
The first step in savoring, of course, is simply noticing when a pleasant moment is happening. It’s easy for me to get caught up in my negative stories about summer, but maybe for you, it’s winter. Or rainy days. Or that time of year, whenever it may be, that will be forever associated with a sad memory.
We all have those stories. They’re based on our life experiences and they’re real. I’m not saying we should ignore their existence. It’s just that there are so many more stories than the ones we’ve written in permanent marker on our neural pathways. What if we made space for those too?
This too.
So yeah, it’s stupid hot. There are fires burning in all my favorite states. I miss doing fun things with my husband. I’m grieving.
But this too. I’m drinking a glass of iced tea and appreciating its amber glow. This too. The tree overhanging my balcony is in full leaf, providing me with a dappled green privacy screen. This too. My phone buzzes with travel photos from my son as he crisscrosses the country on his school break.
And I made a galette.
What are you savoring this season? What is your this too?
Until next time, I’m wishing you love and joy and all those good things,
Jenn
P.S. Keep scrolling to read about what’s coming next. And if any of this—the video, this newsletter, something I said in the past—has hit home with you, let me know in the comments or even by replying to this email. For real. I love hearing from you.
Coming Soon:
Next week’s video is about using my Traveler’s Journal for actual traveling. I know! If you have a YouTube account, you can subscribe there and click the notification bell to get an alert as soon as the video comes out. Otherwise, I’ll be sure to link it in your next newsletter.
I’m taking a planned break this week, so there will be no YouTube Live retreat on Wednesday. Stay tuned, because I have some ideas to switch things up starting in September.
Substack Exclusives:
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