Just wanna have sun!

Summertime. A time for that natural Vitamin D, for warming up the BBQ, and personal growth?

Of course it is! Summertime, that time when there's still energy at the end of the day, when the sun stays out a lot longer, and when you can really ramp up your dreams and plans.

Now, I'm not calling for summer school, or locking yourself in a library all summer long. Get real! No. I'm saying, if summer doesn't inspire you about what your life could be like, how you could be spending your summers, you are doing it wrong.

Do yourself a favor, and spend your summer just being aware. Be aware of yourself, who you are, what it took to get here. And be grateful. There's a reason you get to enjoy the sun on the back porch, there's work you did that bought you that summer dress, there's investments in friendships and family that got you an invite to that wedding. Whatever it is on your calendar, be grateful.

And start dreaming! Dream big, HUGE. You deserve to have the summer of your dreams. That friend that gets to do Saturday mimosas with an instagram-worthy messy bun, or the cousin who is jet-setting across globe, be proud of them! Either they have earned it, or they will have to eventually (thank you credit cards!). So figure out for you. What do you want? Are you scheduling it? Are you planning for it? These things don't just happen to people, they become a part of their lives.

Summers in Montana go fast, I mean lightning fast. One day we had snow, the next it was in the 70s, and before we know it the snow will be back! So, are you making space for the things that matter? Are you balancing the quantity of time with your children with the quality of interaction that you and they crave? Are you making space for lazy Saturdays, farmers' markets, and summer reads?

Personally, my husband and I schedule a couple of "home" weekends each summer. These are weekends where nothing is planned, and we protect them with everything we've got. Sure, he ribbed me plenty about these when I started doing them last summer after a summer previously where every weekend had us going or doing something. Until he realized how much more freedom it gave him. Now, he asks me when the next "home" weekend is, because he has so much he wants to do and I love seeing them on the calendar myself.

Finally, use this moment to grow. I'm not saying to get yourself from A to Z, I'm saying get yourself from A to B and if the energy exists, then from B to C to D and maybe E. You do not have to make huge strides to make progress and imagine how much better fall will be when you're already on phase C or D of your plan!

And, look, if our Montana summer doesn't inspire you to make progress, you are doing it wrong! Go try it again.