UPDATE: Giveaway winner is Trixi O! Congratulations, Trixi!
Hi there! Lee Tobin McClain here, wondering if you dislike that “last days of summer” phrase as much as I do. I love summer! Getting outdoors, wearing casual clothes, cooking out…I like all of it, and much prefer it to winter cold. Plus, I’m a teacher and my daughter is a somewhat reluctant student. It’s hard for us to even say the word “S-S-S-September” around here.
Nonetheless, fall is almost upon us. At my house, we’re shopping for school supplies, finishing long-put-off summer reading assignments, and preparing classes. But wait….summer isn’t over yet! Here are a few ways to stretch out the end of summer and get the very most out of it.
Do one last trip
I don’t know about you, but I measure time in events. “We’ll start planning the party after we get back from vacation.” “There will be plenty of time for remodeling the porch after my small group’s end-of-year banquet.” For me, this year, it was a trip to Presque Isle State Park up in Erie, Pennsylvania that marked the end of my summer.
There’s still time! If you plan a trip for the very end of summer, you won’t have to contemplate the end of the season until, well, the end. I’m thinking about a Labor Day getaway….
Presque Isle at Sunrise
Have an Adventure
These can’t always be planned, but if you’re open to them, you just might make one last summer memory. For example, my teenage daughter and her friends wanted to locate a mysterious swimming hole. I had way too much to do getting ready for classes, but it was a Sunday afternoon and I decided that friends, fun, and family were a better way to spend the time than working. So off we went.
A few dirt roads, a lot of direction-asking conversations with strangers, a scary walk over a railroad bridge and a scramble down a steep hillside, and there we were: a glorious off-the-beaten-track swimming hole complete with pools and waterfalls, cool trees and off-road vehicles.
Did I get my work done? No. Did I help three teenaged girls make a summer memory? Most definitely. That was worth it.
Read a Summery Book
Escape into a summery book world! Of course, I have a couple of suggestions. Several members of the inspy blog teamed up recently to put together a box of our novels that are set in summertime. If you can’t travel physically before the end of summer, do it through a book. Where would you like to go? A small town? A beach? A farm? An inner-city mission? All of those locations are there in our collection. Grab Summer of Love for only 99 cents and escape back into summer! Or, if you want to remember summer fondly and look to future seasonal fun, how about Christmas in July? Several of us wrote novellas centered around an animal shelter fundraiser with a Christmas in July theme. You can get Love in Mistletoe Springs for only 99 cents as well!
Six Christian Romance Novels Celebrating Summer…for 99 cents
A collection of heartwarming novellas about summer, rescue animals, and Christmas in July…for 99 cents
Pause to Reflect
You know from the bible that summer wasn’t always the “break from school” season that it often is for us today. Instead, summer was a mixed blessing: the heat of summer can dry up your strength, as in Psalm 32, or produce delicious fruit—summer fruit is mentioned many times in the bible. What has been the fruit of your summer? Has the season been productive and fruitful, or has it drained your energy? What have you learned? What’s next? Try journaling, praying, or talking with a friend about the season that’s passing and the one to come.
What’s your favorite trick for extending summer or making the most of its last days? I’ll give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card to a random commenter. I know, it’s not much—but if you check out yesterday’s blog, you’ll see all the 99-cent boxed sets on offer from Inspy bloggers. You could end up with 25 different stories to read!
Lee Tobin McClain read Gone With The Wind in the third grade and has been an incurable romantic ever since. Lee is the author of the Sacred Bond series of contemporary inspirational romances and also writes the Rescue River books (angsty, but full of fun kids and dogs) for Harlequin Love Inspired. When she not writing emotional Christian romances, she's probably driving around a carload of snarky teen girls, playing with her rescue dog and cat, or teaching aspiring writers in Seton Hill University's MFA program. She is probably not cleaning her house.
This is actually our favorite time of year! Not too hot, not too cold and not too crowded since public schools are back in session :) perfect timing for just about anything!
Good point, Beth–the weather IS beautiful and that’s a good thing to focus on.
I guess you could say I’m in the Summer season of my life with Winter getting much closer! Since retiring we get to spend more time at the lake and since we worked outside it’s so nice to be able to stay inside where it’s cool.. The heat drains my energy but I did get all my summer chores done :)
I do miss the busy-ness of children & getting ready for school activities..
Hi Lee. This time of year leaves me with such a bittersweet feeling. I love Fall but it also brings the start of school which means the lazy days of summer are over. My oldest is also heading back to college….WAAAH. I always get so emotional about it. My favorite trick is to keep drinking ice coffees. That makes me think of summer.
You mentioned Presque Isle State Park. We drove up to Erie from the southern part of WV last month to explore a new city to us and we loved Erie. There was so much for our two grandchildren to see and do. All 5 of us loved Presque Isle State Park. We took the sunset cruise on Lake Erie and have such fond memories of the lovely sunset.
School started back in our area last week. Our grandson is a freshman in high school so there were a few jitters on his part. He is settling in just fine.
To extend summer a little more we always plan a trip down to The Great Smoky Mountains area over Labor Day weekend with our two grandchildren. That gives them something to look forward to knowing that we have that getaway coming up so soon.
I have Summer of Love on my Kindle to read next. I bought it back in Spring but with all of our travels over the summer I haven’t been reading as much as I usually do. Looking forward to reading it.
Although I like generally like summer, I have not enjoyed this one due to it being a horrible allergy season. I LOVE Fall. I like the colors and the smell in the air. It’s by far my favorite.
I hope you and your daughter have a great school year, Lee. :)
Thank you, Kimberly! I love how everyone’s giving me positive stuff to focus on for fall. I need the boost!
I’m sure that’ll be me, too–miss it once it’s over even though it drive me crazy now! Glad you’re getting some good R&R.
Ouch, Belle–that must be so sad to say goodbye to your college student! I see it from the other end, teaching at Seton Hill–we have some sad-faced kids for the first couple of days, until everyone adjusts and gets into the routine. Iced coffee is a great idea!
Hey Nancy, thanks for writing! Who would think that Erie, PA would be a vacation hotspot? It really is beautiful. Hope you enjoy Summer of Love–let us know what you think!
I thought our back-to-school days were in the rear-view mirror when I suddenly realized our oldest granddaughter is off to kindergarten right after Labor Day!
I’ll be glad when summer is over. I’ve never liked the heat, and this summer has been HOT. Plus the smoke from all the forest fires in the PNW and BC are making it difficult to breath, and I hear breathing is essential. Forget fall, I’ll be glad when WINTER is here!
Are we still friends, Lee?
Summer used to be my least favorite season–too hot! But now that I’m a homeschooling mom… :D I love summer! And we are not back to school yet. It’s coming, though.
Lee, we need to see a picture of that swimming hole! I sure hope you took some???
Ha, Sally…sounds like you’re going back to work too. I’ll look around for a photo that doesn’t have swimsuit-clad girls in it, LOL! My daughter and her friends have no idea how beautiful they are. I’m careful to only post pix from a distance!
Ah, good point!
Sounds as if you truly made the most of all the blessings of your summer, Lee. Prayers for a smooth transition into Fall.
Valerie, I will assume that your brain has been addled by writing a Christmas novella in the heat of the summer….
Thanks, Autumn, that’s a good way to look at it. And of course you like AUTUMN!!!!
I am not really a summer person so I stay indoors a lot but come fall my favorite time of year, watch out.
My son will be graduating this year (yikes!) so I’d love to extend this summer for as long as possible!! Our schools here in Oregon don’t start until after labor day in September, so I suppose we have a longer summer then some states.
I love summer for all the reasons you do too Lee! Cooking out, smaller loads of laundry due to less clothes, being able to get outside, maybe take more walks along the ocean. The only thing that really detracts from summer’s appeal is ALL the tourists we get on the coast…ugh!! It makes it hard to get around town or want to hang out on the crowded beach or walk into our local grocery store and spend 20 minutes in line. Ok maybe I exaggerated a bit on the line waiting time ;-) but you get the idea! I’m a small crowd person, so it just annoys me to be around so many people in so many places! I love when our autumn\winter season is upon us where the locals can breathe a sigh of relief :-)
Thanks for sharing your day with 3 teen girls…it sounds like all of you had a wonderful time to relax and spend some fun times together! And like you said, you made one more lasting memory that they can look back on! Nothing better than that!!
I love summer and the heat, so I’m always sorry to see it go.
While this may be true, it is also true that I’ve preferred cooler weather for many years. I didn’t like winter when I had to drive to work as we get very wet, sloppy, slippery snow. Now that I’m a full-time author and don’t have to leave the house every morning at 8:40? I’m thrilled with the snow and love going outside to play in it!
having great times with family and friends.. also reading and sharing the books that I read with others
I love summer. But since I only work during the months my children are in school, I also love back to school days. This is our second full week – we start early here. Enjoy your last few days!
I love the warmth of summer but always enjoy the colors that fall brings and the cool nights and warm days :) Makes fall to be one of the prettiest times of the year.
Here in Virginia, I tend to prefer spring and fall for cooler, less humid weather. But I do love the summer evenings when my sweet hubby and I can sit out on our deck and listen to the whippoorwills sing into the darkening night, while we watch the summer stars rise above the trees. It is so peaceful and restful for the soul.
Hi Linda, glad to see you here! Fall is definitely a great time for getting outside. Bet you live in a warm climate?
Oh, Trixi, you reminded me of the other reason I love summer…smaller loads of laundry!
Hooray for summer reading!
What a poetic description of summer evenings! Thank you!
Okay, after writing this post and reading everyone’s comments, I am feeling better about fall. You’re right, Jen; it’s a very pretty time of year.