Summer so far ☀️
Let's catch up
Hi friends,
How is your summer going so far? I haven’t written in a while, and the reasoning for that will become clear as you read on - let’s just say life has felt full the last few months.
When it comes to writing here, or creatively, I find I need not just time, but headspace. I need to feel rested, inspired and free to focus. And that hasn’t happened until recently. But, here I am, lounging on my sofa, the sound of a fan and birdsong in my ear, ready to write.
I thought I’d catch you up on how summer is treating me so far and what I’m looking forward to as we head into August.
It’s been… hot (and itchy)
Anyone living in the UK will tell you just how unusually hot and dry this summer has been and, living in a top floor flat, I’ve been gladly joining in with the complaints.
It has mostly felt too hot to sit out and enjoy the sunshine and we’ve had to keep our curtains closed for the majority of the hot days to keep temperatures inside bearable.
I’ve also succumbed to multiple heat rashes, adding injury to insult.
Grumbling aside, when the temperatures have dipped below the 30s, I have enjoyed sitting in our local park, under huge willow trees, sipping iced coffee and reading.
There’s also a particular buzz in Guildford in the summer, buskers filling the cobbled high street with music and people dining and drinking al fresco. It does remind me how much I love this town.
It’s been… busy
Full, effervescent, vibrant, busy – whatever you want to call it, summer so far has been it. In the last quarter I’ve been to three conferences, hosted two workshops, filmed several interviews and been interviewed myself for a podcast.
Weekends have been full, either with said conferences, seeing family or socialising with friends. There’s been one trip abroad (to Spain, with Dan’s parents and young nieces - which was about as intense as you might imagine), and multiple trips into London.
Work has felt full on and occasionally stressful. Fulfilling, for sure, but also tiring at times… so the lack of downtime at weekends took its toll after a while.
It’s required… boundaries
With the above in mind, I did find myself needing to step back from things and set some boundaries.
This included stopping my weekly volunteer role with Beat, and reducing down to my more ad-hoc volunteer role with them that gives me more flexibility in terms of time-spend.
I also had to set boundaries around family requests on my time. Never fun to do and rarely goes down well, but breaking unhelpful patterns is sorely needed sometimes (and, thankfully, I think this time this was recognised).
The rest of summer…
Is looking much, much calmer. The temperatures have settled slightly, making everything feel a bit more manageable.
Work, for now, has also settled with no energetically-expensive events in the near future. Social plans have died down too, with a rather deliciously empty-looking calendar for August.
I plan to keep it that way, where possible. While I will always be up for seeing friends and family – I’d also like to use this month as a chance to slow down, take a breath and recoup some energy.
I want to read more in parks. Get a fancy takeaway pizza and eat it by the river. Go on day trips with Dan. Write a short story. Bring back my at-home workout routine (which has been thwarted by the heat). On that note – be able to cook dinner/clean/do anything in the flat without sweating (what a concept).
Thank you, as always to those who stick around and read my increasingly sporadic musings here. At times I wish I could be more consistent, come up with a ‘content strategy’ and really add value here.
But then I remember I created this space to escape that mentality. And instead to enjoy the freedom of writing as the mood strikes, connecting to those who enjoy it and saying ‘farewell’ to those who need more (never any hard feelings for those who do, btw).
So it really is appreciated when I see people have clicked and read. I’d love to hear how summer has been for you so far and what plans you have for August, let me know in the comments.
Until next time,
Kat x