Anxious About Summer’s End? Enjoy the Season While You Can
SUMMERTIME (AND THE LIVING IS EASY)
You know the aria from Porgy and Bess: Summertime (and the living is easy). It’s a wonderful time of year to be outdoors, to wear less clothing and to feel freer. Unfortunately for those of us who live in places with four seasons, summer is slowly coming to an end like the conclusion of a riveting novel. Darn it.
We may even grieve the loss with the anticipation of cold, dark days to come. Newscaster Katie Couric waits all year for summer. In a recent conversation with licensed psychologist Monica Dragust from partner Talkspace, they shared practical ways to lessen the end-of-summer anxiety, which is fast approaching. Among them: practice mindfulness and think what it is about summer—or any season you love--and try to weave some of that into your life at other times of the year. Or you can always move to a warm year-round climate.
Anxiety about the end of summer can start as early as July 4. It hits us as soon as we hoist a flag or bake a red, white and blue cake, put away our summer clothing and shoes, and swimsuits, and gear up to celebrate Labor Day. Then, slowly and almost imperceptibly, winter months creep up as we transition to coats, mittens, hats, scarves, boots, puffer coats and multiple layers underneath.
Instead of mourning the last days of a favorite season, stop! Rather than imagine what lies ahead as cold weather hits us like a fast-moving avalanche, try to live more in the moment and savor every delicious summer day that’s left. Here’s our list of ideas. Feel free to add yours.
1. Take a pleasant walk every day. It doesn’t have to be a brisk 10,000 steps or even the now recommended 7,000 steps. Just enjoy. Slather on sunscreen, bug spray, wear a hat, comfortable shoes and go. Early morning is best when it’s still cool outside. Also, if you want a second walk, go in the evening when it’s still light outside and a bit cooler. If you regularly see the same people on your walking path, introduce yourself. Conversation is a plus when being outdoors rather than stuck indoors by ourselves.
2. Get more active and go for a swim, rent a kayak, canoe or sailboat, play croquet, learn pickleball since more keep doing so, or consider golf, tennis or even archery! Ponder a hike; just choose clothing carefully and watch out for ticks.
3. Take a book or magazine and read outdoors. Bring a water bottle, some snacks, and find a comfortable chair or bench in the shade. If you’re artistic, consider taking your sketch pad and even watercolors outside. Or try what’s now termed the grandma hobbies such as knitting, crocheting, quilting and needlepointing. If you enjoy music, plug in your earbuds or don headphones and access your favorite playlist.
4. Games. If you want company, consider organizing a game of chess, Scrabble, mahjong or canasta outdoors with a group of friends. Sociability adds joy, especially after those solitary walks or reading spells.
5. Go to an outdoor concert, which are easy to find, often free, in a park, at a historic mansion or library, or at a local school. You’ll often find your choice of music. Some ballets are also performed outdoors in summer if that’s your preference. Or find an outdoor dance fest like that featured in the evenings all summer long at Lincoln Center in New York City. We recently saw an Instagram post that highlighted a swing dance band in Carl Schurz Park on NYC’s Upper East Side with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike singing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
6. Have a picnic. We keep looking at recipes and menu suggestions beyond fried chicken and potato salad. Dig out an old picnic basket or invest in a new one and prepare food without mayo that might spoil in the heat. Or pick up some picnic food if you don’t have time to prepare it, aren’t into cooking or it’s too hot in your kitchen to even think about turning on an oven. Invite a few friends to share. If you don’t like eating in a public park with too many bugs and people around, how about on your lawn, deck or terrace if you have a home or apartment? Many apartment buildings have outdoor spaces, sometimes on a rooftop with big sheltering umbrellas.
7. Cut some flowers from your garden if you have one or pull some tomatoes off a vine if you’ve planted a few pots. If not, head to a farmer’s market and buy a bouquet for yourself and fresh produce to make gazpacho that you might freeze for winter months ahead. Or try Margaret’s cold cucumber soup recipe, a winner for year-round, she says. A sprinkle of fresh dill and diced fresh cucumber on top makes it even better.* (recipe below)
8. Take a road trip to somewhere you’ve been considering. Roads aren’t icy, and you don’t have to go far. Consider George Washington’s Mount Vernon home, which has been updated if you’re near Washington, D.C., or Coney Island if you live near New York City or Ashbury Park, N.J., if you live near the Jersey shore. In New England? Continue northward and have one last delicious lobster roll, mayo or butter, you choose. In the Los Angeles area, head to the beach at Santa Monica, north to Santa Barbara or south to San Diego. Imbibe the last few bites of summer hot dogs slathered with sauerkraut, mustard and relish piled on high. Have a few final glasses of a great rose.
9. Indulge in an ice cream cone or sundae. It always tastes sweeter in warm weather, and these days there’s no end to new exotic flavors—lobster? Garlic? Corn? Yup, you read that right. There are also many nondairy choices for the lactose intolerant. Top any off with sprinkles or gummy worms to feed your inner child. Prefer the basics—OK, be conservative with vanilla or chocolate or both.
10. Tackle an outdoor house project if you have a home; painting the exterior or even the front door, adding window boxes, purchasing a new mailbox, installing a sprinkler system for next year to make watering easier or having the driveway resealed if it’s beaten up from prior winters and has potholes.
11 Find a nearby waterpark. If you’re not in proximity to one, create your own in the backyard. Turn on the sprinkler, do a slip and slide and plan games around it. There’s water balloon volleyball or basketball, squirt gun water races or water balloon races. If you have a pool, throw a final summer barbecue as a yearly tradition to mark the end of another lazy hazy summer.
12 Visit a nearby amusement park. Let your inner kid emerge. Try a scary ride or hop on a horse at a carousel or just buy cotton candy or a fat, hot, soft pretzel and enjoy the sight of others enjoying a summer day or evening.
The good news—and bad. Yes, summer is ending soon. However, before you know it, summer will be here again. That’s one of the problems with aging—the time speeds by so quickly.
On the opposite end of the coin: For those who are thrilled to see summer end, let us know why.
Cold Cucumber Soup Recipe
Two large Persian cucumbers ( 2 1/4th pounds) halved and seeded. Finely dice ½ cup and coarsely chop the rest.
11/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (usually okay for the lactose intolerant) or use a lactose-free yogurt such as Green Valley Creamery or Fage. Or use 1 cup of yogurt and a half-cup of Crème Fraiche.
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small shallot, chopped
One garlic clove, minced
1/3rd cup loosely packed fresh dill
1/4th cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
1/4th cup of olive oil, plus more for drizzling on top
Salt
Fresh white pepper
½ red onion, finely chopped
A Taste of Summer: In a blender, combine the chopped cucumber with the yogurt or yogurt and crème fraiche, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, dill, parsley, tarragon, and the 1/4th cup olive oil. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. The colder, the better, and it can last up to 10-days in the fridge. Season the soup again just before serving. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with finely diced cucumber, dill and a drizzle of olive oil, then serve and enjoy the cold crisp smoothness of this summer soup.