{"id":26385,"date":"2018-08-01T11:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=26385"},"modified":"2018-08-01T11:17:04","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T15:17:04","slug":"dont-retire-refire-soak-in-the-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=26385","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Retire, ReFire: Soak in the Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gail Supplee Tatum<\/strong>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It is ever so subtle.\u00a0 The days are starting to get just a little bit shorter. When that starts to happen, there\u2019s a sense of urgency that comes over me, like I better be outside as much as possible, soak up the warmth of the sun and thoroughly enjoy the last forty-five days left of the summer.<\/p>\n

While Fall is a wonderful season, as the leaves turn their brilliant colors, the air gets crispy and the holidays begin with Halloween and Thanksgiving, leading into the winter, as the end of the year draws near, the summer is most energizing to me.\u00a0 I understand that this is my opinion and will not be everyone\u2019s opinion.\u00a0 I apologize if I offend those who love the cold, wintry weather. Even though the summer is my favorite, I truly do appreciate all seasons, because they are so vivid and distinct here in Chester County!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re frantically trying to figure out how to capture what remains of the summer, so that you have lots of memories which will keep you warm throughout those chilly, wintry months, here are some activities that you might want to consider engaging in:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take walks, short or long, whatever you can fit in. Find different locations, like parks, neighborhoods with varying terrain, and places like Longwood Gardens and Winterthur. As you walk, keep your eyes and ears open so as to get in touch with nature. Soak it all in. Look around. Smile! Be in the moment! Being and staying in the moment will add a peaceful energy to your entire being. The short, cold days of Winter draw us inside, in order to keep up with our fitness routine, so take advantage of the long warm days while they last.<\/li>\n
  2. Schedule a last-minute vacation, large or small, whatever is available and whatever you can do. Unplug and regroup. One thing is for sure, if you only talk about it, it won\u2019t happen. First decide where.\u00a0 Will it be the beach or the mountains or another destination? Do you want to get on a plane or will you drive?\u00a0 How much available time do you have?\u00a0 Is it a week or a few days? Ask yourself what you would regret not doing when you look back on the Summer of 2018.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something that\u2019s possible to do, then plan it and make it a reality.<\/li>\n
  3. Go to an ice cream stand and get something yummy before they close until Spring! There\u2019s nothing more refreshing than eating ice cream outside on a hot summer evening. Go more than once, if you can!\u00a0 If you\u2019re taking walks, it won\u2019t hurt your waistline.<\/li>\n
  4. Fully \u201cunplug\u201d to get back in touch with what brings you joy. This can happen in the comforts of your home or out to dinner with friends or family or in a movie theater, watching a movie you\u2019ve wanted to see for a while. Turn off your phone, let the challenges you may be dealing with, take a back seat, just for a while.\u00a0 We should all do this at a minimum of once a week, all year \u2018round.\u00a0 It is so good for mental clarity!<\/li>\n
  5. Think about how you can make the summer months last throughout the winter by planning a trip or two, during that time. Just thinking about it will energize you!<\/li>\n
  6. Rainy summer days are fun, too! You can get in touch with the kid in you as the rain falls, you\u2019re getting wet and, best of all, you don\u2019t care! We have had our share of rainy days lately, so, as long as there\u2019s no thunder or lightening, do it for the experience!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What would really make your summer notable?\u00a0 Have you done it already?\u00a0 If not, plan it, follow through and do it!<\/p>\n

    Notice how simple the above suggestions are.\u00a0 Summer is about simplicity, slowing down and taking it easy.<\/p>\n

    In my book, the three letter word that is synonymous with summer is FUN!<\/p>\n

    If none of these suggestions are possible, then simply find joy through laughter.<\/p>\n

    In the words of Milton Berle, a famously funny comedian of the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s, \u201cLaughter is an instant vacation.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times It is ever so subtle.\u00a0 The days are starting to get just a little bit shorter. When that starts to happen, there\u2019s a sense of urgency that comes over me, like I better be outside as much as possible, soak up the warmth of the sun and thoroughly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6954,6269,3734,1735,3763],"class_list":["post-26385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-activities","tag-featured","tag-fun","tag-retirement","tag-summer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26386,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26385\/revisions\/26386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}