Friday Feels #10

We were in Clearwater, BC, last week for our family summer vacation, and it was wonderful. It felt like stepping outside the mad whirlwind of daily life for a little while and just being. I read five books in six days, which wasn’t a new record for me but was utterly delightful. We all went swimming in the lake every day. My husband and I took a kayak ride to see the waterlilies up close. My daughter and I sat on the dock, dangling our feet in the water, and enjoying our “girl time”. Truly, it was bliss.

And then, it was back to real life. I had this week off from work as well, which gave me a chance to acclimatize to the pace of our usual routines again. As always, I had lofty goals for using the extra free time to get stuff done and, as always, most of them came to nought. This year, I am determined not to beat myself up over it. Especially since we are now nearing the end of August, which is a difficult time of year for me. End-of-summer melancholy still hits me hard every year. I recently read a quote that August was the true of the year end (as opposed to December) and I really feel that. I’m sure that August being my birth month has something to do with that, but it’s also the start of the season change (at least here, in Edmonton) and the realignment of daily life with the kids heading back to school in September. The end of August feels like turning over a page to a new chapter.

These are older outfits, by the way. In Clearwater, I wore the same Lululemon shorts for a week. [Along with a couple of T-shirts and an old sweatshirt, 2 swimsuits, and a couple of basic, loose cotton dresses I keep specifically for these trips. Oh, and my black, plastic Birks.] As someone who gets “dressed up” every day of my life, it was a big change of pace for me but, honestly, I loved it. It really helped to underscore that feeling of pause.

But now I’m back in the saddle and trying to mentally prepare for going back to work next week. I had a peek at my work inbox because I couldn’t help myself. It was less horrific than I was fearing, and I did a little bit of cleaning up with an eye to making life easier for myself come Monday. Does anyone else do that? I’m very lucky to work with folks who really understand and respect the importance of disconnecting from work, so there’s usually no external pressure to “check in” while I’m on holiday (except in rare cases of major emergencies), but I am still battling my own internal mindset inculcated during my years in private practice.

There are some updates to share on the book front, but I will save those for a separate post. I also have a ton of book reviews to share, but I’m not sure if I should do a separate post for those as well. Lately, I’ve been posting them on Reels – yes, Reels! Me, on video, imagine that – over on my new writing account on IG. Would you want to see something here as well?

Have a great weekend!