When Summer Starts Whispering Fall

I can feel fall creeping up.

I feel it in my breath.
Under my skin.
In my beating heart.

It’s coming.

There is something particular about the way fall approaches that feels unlike any other season.

Fall moves into winter. Winter moves into spring. And honestly, sometimes we don’t even see much of a visual difference between those seasons—especially here in the Northeast.

We’ve had winter-like days with snow in April, cold slush in May, and things that seemed to bloom a little later this summer.

But mid-August?

Mid-August has a feeling.

The light changes. The mornings feel different. The evenings come a tiny bit sooner. And suddenly my brain starts whispering:

Fall is coming. Shouldn’t you be getting your act together?

Ha.

Because apparently, this is officially the summer when my Summer Bucket List / Summer To-Do List is NOT getting done.

Organize the thousands of photos and videos on my phone? Nope.

Clean out the attic? Absolutely not.

Create a better work strategy and plan for 2027? That sounds like a lovely fall project.

Update my website? Also fall.

Swim across the lake?

Well… there’s still time. Maybe.

But when I look back at the seams of this summer—the places where the plans split open and let unexpected opportunity and joy seep in—I realize something quite beautiful happened instead.

I found a different kind of time.

A different kind of space.

A calmer energy.

I taught my pup, Chili, how to calmly ride on the front of my paddle board while we’re out on the lake. And if you know Chili, you understand why calmly deserves both italics and applause.

I watered my plants and ferns every day and actually stopped long enough to notice how they glisten that bright, beautiful green across my porch.

I went to learn at lectures and listen at concerts and sit on my porch a little longer, with less rush to the next thing.

I took the time to write every Friday.

In my journal.
For my blog.
For my heart.
For my head.

Not because I had something profound to say every week, but because writing creates space for me to hear myself think. (yes, that’s a real thing in this cray cray beautiful season of mid life)

And I slept.

Ohhhhh, did I sleep.

I think I have slept more this summer than in any season I can remember. I napped when I could. I went to bed when I was tired. I stopped treating rest like something I needed to earn after everything else was finished.

Because, news flash: everything is never finished.

There will always be another attic.

Another inbox.

Another website update.

Another 7,482 photos on my phone that apparently I cannot delete because what if someday I desperately need 14 slightly different pictures of the same sunset?

But this summer is reminding me that rest can be productive, too.

Not productive in the check-it-off-the-list kind of way.

Productive in the way that matters to our health.

It restores us.

It settles us.

It gives our nervous system room to soften. (hello “para time”)

It allows our bodies to recover from all the moving, lifting, walking, working, caring, traveling, thinking and doing.

And maybe that is what summer delight has been for me this year.

Not accomplishing more.

But noticing more.

Watering the ferns.

Writing the words.

Paddling with Chili.

Sleeping.

Napping.

Sitting on the porch.

Letting some things remain undone.

Resting in spirit.

And that resting is bringing a freshness and a lightness to my heart that I know I will carry with me as I step into fall.

Maybe fall freshness doesn’t begin with a new planner, a perfectly organized schedule or a giant list of goals.

Maybe it begins here.

In the final weeks of summer.

With a little less rushing.

A little more noticing.

A little more rest.

And the understanding that sometimes the best preparation for what’s next is not doing more.

It’s allowing ourselves to FULLY ENJOY where we are.

So, I’m not quite ready to close up summer yet.

There are still porch mornings to enjoy, lake days to squeeze in, ferns to water, words to write, naps to take…

…and apparently one lake I still need to swim across.

We’ll see about that one.

Summer delight, I’m still here.

And somehow, without checking nearly enough things off my list, I think you’re getting me ready for fall just fine.

I’d love to hear how you are delighting in summer?  Reply and let me know.  

And if it feels behind you, reflect and share one little thing that is giving you a deep breath right now.  

And if it’s still ahead for you, what do you need to delight in to enjoy stepping into fall?

I’m here for your replies, and your seasons, always.