“Summer’s here, I’m for that. Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat. Got my cold beer, I’m just glad that it’s here.” That is the opening line to a classic James Taylor song. You can listen to it here. If you’re not in a ‘summer mood’ yet, you will be after listening to that. Virtually everyone I know seems busier than ever. Stress levels are high and summer has arrived just in time….and it will go by quickly.
I want to you challenge yourself to make this summer exceptional.
A good place to start is to sit down and brainstorm by yourself or with your family what will make it exceptional? When was the last time you did a simple search for fun things to do within a few 100 miles of where you live? You don’t have to take a long or expensive trip to have fun. TripAdvisor is an excellent resource to find ideas.
If you are like me it seems the only time I do some of the cool stuff in our area is when we host family or friends from out of town! Is that you too? We are blessed to live in Eastern Tennessee that has a wide variety of outdoor activities. The Smokey Mountain National Park is amazing. We love to get out and take a hike in a new area, rent kayaks and float a river, get out on a boat for a day, go stay overnight in a small town we have not been to, got to a concert or play, dust off the bikes, take a picnic…..
Imagine you are 80 years old and looking back on this summer. It could be full of memories and moments you cherish because you made a decision to make it an exceptional summer. About 17 years ago I was speaking in Jackson, MS and I asked the audience to imagine they were 80 and that 80 year old them could give them one piece of advice about their current situation. What would it be? Think about that one for a moment…….what would you say?
It can be life changing! I will always remember a girl named Georgia Ann came up to me after the program and said her granny had given her advice that reminded her of that question. She said her granny always said,
“Child remember, you many only get 80 summers. Make them count.”
Do the math. How many do you have left? Take ownership of this summer. Being spontaneous is great and you will be better results if you start planning your summer now. Will you look back and say….I remember that summer of 2017 so well! That was the summer we…..it was amazing!
