Heat. Humidity. Floods. Insects. Allergies. Yardwork. And a new contender to the Northeast ”“ smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Shakespeare”™s Richard III may soliloquize about “the winter of our discontent,” but for many ”“ especially for those who work all the time — summer is no picnic either. (There”™s a reason, after all, that Labor Day comes toward the end of summer and not another season. It”™s especially meant for those who don”™t get a summer vacation.)
“It”™s supposed to be a carefree time ”” a holdover idea, perhaps, from childhood summer break ”” and when it doesn”™t feel that way, that can carry an extra layer of disappointment,” Jancee Dunn wrote in a recent wellness column for The New York Times, in which she quoted a ”¯2023 YouGov”¯study that found August to be the third most-hated month of the year (after January and February). (Favorite month of the year, hands-down? December.)
What to do? Dunn offers three tips that include not allowing summer light to mess with your sleep schedule and checking your “shoulds” at the door. (Who says you have to barbecue, play sports or go on vacation?)
But her first tip is perhaps the most important: “Focus on small summer joys.” A soft-serve ice cream cone, an off-hour walk on the beach, an afternoon excursion to a nearby town or some time with your feet up paging through Coastal Living magazine or Susan Branch”™s “The Summer Book,” which is filled with suggestions for creating the summer we would like to have ”“ all are reminders that it needn”™t cost a lot of time or money to savor the season.
Fall arrives Sept. 23. That means there are still five weeks to make this a summer you”™ll miss ”“ rather than one you missed out on.
And for those who can”™t wait to see it gone, just remember: You don”™t have to shovel the heat.
