Summer's Best: a Togetherness Tip Recap

At the beginning of this summer, I made a few strong promises to myself — I was going to hike a different mountain every week, scale back my work schedule, get out on my paddleboard a bunch, and spend plenty of time outside with my family.

I didn't do any of it.

My guess is you know exactly why.

I had a great summer—one I'm incredibly thankful for, but a few situations turned out differently than I thought they would and things got a little. . . well, busy. In case you had a similar kind of summer, missed a Friday morning email or two, and could use some fresh encouragement and inspiration,

Here's a little recap of this summer's best togetherness tips ⤵ 

Outdoor Adventure & Travel:

• ➳ National Park Hacks from Long-Term Nomads

• ➳ Mount Katahdin: a photo gallery

• ➳ Acadia: a photo essay

• ➳ 10 Years of My Best Travel Advice 

• ➳ Family Roadtrip Advice from a Former Full-Time Traveler

• ➳ 5 Surefire Ways to a Great Summer

Pursuing Big Dreams & Personal Growth:

• ➳ How to Overcome a Setback 

• ➳ The Power of Time Spent Alone

• ➳ The Book that Wrecked Me

• ➳ If You're Struggling to Take Care of Yourself

• ➳ A Trick for When You Feel Powerless

• ➳ How do we finally start living the life of our dreams?

• ➳ How to Know Which Dream to Choose

• ➳ Celebrating three years of Togetherness Tips  

Building Deep Relationships:

• ➳ How to Teach Your Kids to Fly

• ➳ Thoughts on Measuring Up and What Really Matters

• ➳ How to Handle Rejection without Disengaging 

• ➳ A Quick Win for Connecting with Teenagers

• ➳ A Must-Read Read-Aloud for Little Kids

• ➳ How to Know if You Could Homeschool

• ➳ Thoughts on Empathy from Sue Monk Kidd

Pick one.
Any ol' one.
Read it.
And gather your strength for what comes next.


& one more thing. . .

Here's a bit of encouragement I rediscovered this week⤵

“Redefining one’s own life means daring to imagine that life could be different, realizing that whatever you’ve been created for is always within reach, trusting that when you step out (and sometimes fall down), someone will be there to support you, guide you, and help you on your path. It means you get to make the rules and run the show. It means that at the end of your life when you realize your last moments are near, you can breathe easily and enter the rest you deserve, knowing you gave life your best shot, relishing in the fact that you left it all on the field — you didn’t save or waste or lose a thing…”

— From "Redefining Togetherness" in Best Self Magazine 

I hope you find some courage in those words.

And plenty of inspiration for stepping into all kinds of fall fun with your people (and resting on the porch, reading good books, snuggling under chunky blankets and cozy sweaters, and doing all the leaf peeping — fall is great for all of those).

And if you’re not there already, I’d love to see you in my Friday morning email group.

As always — chat with you then!
💛