Summer Slow Down - What's That?

Summer Slow Down – What’s That? 

As we prepared for the end of our Spring groups season this year, talk around the office shifted into productivity daydreams about how we would use all of the anticipated extra time that Summer would bring once we weren’t juggling full family and school group schedules. The more we talked about the decisions and tasks that we had left pending for this Summer, the more we realized that Summer won’t actually bring much down time at all.  

We wonder how many families have the same experience? Trying to push through the final weeks of the school year and all that they bring – field trips, field days, move up ceremonies, proms, decision days, graduations… – in order to reach an anticipated period of rest over the Summer months. Then when Summer arrives, it seems like that sweet slow down doesn’t actually materialize. 

For many families, there are childcare challenges to be worked out, Summer camps can bring about new shifts in routine, and vacations always seem to require more packing and unpacking than we anticipate! For families who are newly grieving this Summer, many of these challenges will need to be navigated anew. Traditional vacations may need to be skipped for the first time, or people who have stepped in to provide childcare in the past may no longer be with us. Walking in grief on top of it all certainly doesn’t make the Summer load feel light.  

And yet, in Summer the days ARE longer. School is NOT in session. There IS a shift to this season.  

Though it is challenging in reality, we know that there is value of carving out intentional rest amongst the busyness. Pardon the pun, but Summer is ripe with such opportunities! Seeking out the full sensory experience of Summer can help to ground us, create some of those sweet and slow memories, and provide for a brief moment of connection despite full schedules: 

Shucking corn together while sitting outside  

Doing a stone fruit taste test with plums, nectarines, peaches, and cherries 

Finding a safe spot to observe the sights, sounds, smells of a Summer thunderstorm 

Sitting screen-free with popsicles in hand to observe the shift in summer sounds as daylight turns to twilight (bonus if you can see any fireflies) 

Having a soaked sponge water fight on the days that are too hot for anything else   

Using a day off to do a family walk at dawn when there is dew on the grass and a bit of remaining cool in the air 

We often encourage the school counselors and teachers we work with to remember that Summer break is not always an exciting time for students, especially ones who are grieving. It’s normal if you feel some hesitation as the season approaches, too. Whether Summer seems like a brightly anticipated season of respite or not, we hope that you are able to seize some moments of rest after the intensity of the end of the school year.  

Though our office itineraries remain full, we will certainly miss seeing families in the nest this Summer. We’ll be with you as we aim to carve out some intentional moments of slow down together, too.