Summer Stories: Hammocks, Grandsons, and a Slower August

August has always felt like a pause button for me. Pause before school starts back. Summer vacations winding down. Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the long days that stretch into glorious golden evenings. This month has a way of slowing me down.

This year, I’ve leaned into that pause in a whole new way. No job to get to from 8-5. Just me figuring my new business out, coaching clients on my time and learning to be OK with just being.

While my Cape Cod house has been hosting vacationers through Airbnb, I’ve been back in Alabama playing with my grandson, enjoying bubble blowing instead of endless Zoom meetings, and even sneaking in a nap or two (who knew that was allowed?).

There’s something funny about watching other people “vacation” in my space while I’ve been carving out my own version of rest. For me, this Summer has been about a slow reset. Less rushing, less perfecting, less “what’s next?” and more of this moment right here.

The highlight, of course, has been time with my grandson. Toddlers have a way of teaching you what matters most: joy in the smallest things, curiosity about everything, and smiles and belly laughs that reset your whole nervous system.

Who needs meditation apps when you have a little one running around with sticky fingers in your freshly washed hair?

I’ve realized that my reset doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It’s not about getting everything “balanced” or mapped out. It’s about hammocks, laughter, and letting myself just be.

Here’s my wellness wink for you. Take a few minutes to think about what your "summer reset” looked like? Maybe it was a few mornings without your phone, a dinner outside, or you gave yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for an hour.

Wellness isn’t always about green smoothies, yoga or a TikTok Shop item of the next best thing.... it can be as simple (and powerful) as a slow summer evening, a porch swing, or a sticky popsicle kiss.

Be well my friends.

In Wellness Always.