Summer Practices

I read somewhere that August is like the Sunday of summer. I truly feels like that to me, as I go back to school this week. A return to school year beginnings and routines, expected change starting to happen around us again, and summer slowly dwindling away. As I look back at what this summer was for me, I have noticed a few things:

In spite of traveling a bit, I did not shoot as much as I usually do every summer. Not sure why but probably because, for most of July, I did nothing important, only rest. I took it slow, mainly because I was tired and needed that rest time to re charge my body and improve my mood.

I did not photograph my children that much either. I focused on calming, soft summer light. I took pictures of water, plants, and my kitties; things that didn’t require physical or mental effort.

I didn’t feel like I needed to photograph daily, I only did it because I wanted to. It’s difficult to explain but I let go of the feeling of missing out on a good photo opportunity or rushing to photograph a beautiful sunset because I would regret it later if I didn’t. There will be more sunsets and many, many photo ops. I will photograph them all when I don’t feel anxious about it.

I napped a lot, which is something my body needed. Therefore, there are many photos of my room, my bed, and/or my couch. That makes me happy, as I have documented my self care to make sure that my physical and emotional needs are met.

I exercised. I played pickle ball, I walked, I even rode an electric bike! In other words, I fueled my body when it asked for it and, many other times, when it didn’t. On both occasions, I did feel that my body felt restored afterwards; the pain and effort it took felt good, fueled somehow.

What are some of your summer practices? Do you feel like you’ve enjoyed a slower pace like me? Let me know in the comments below.

Maite