Yesterday, July2nd was the day that signaled we were exactly halfway through 2026. For me, it was a very busy day, but evening brought a time/sense of reflection. I thought about my goals for the coming year set way back in January (See previous post dealing with 26 in 2026), and felt pretty good about the goals I’m still working on, the one I deleted all together, and the two I “modified.”
As I evaluated my goals, the one that brought me the most satisfaction was my Reading Goal. Early in the year I was ready to give up on reading 26 books in the neglected combined genre of autobiography, biography, and memoir. My heart just wasn’t in it! However when my friend April brought me half a dozen interesting looking books in these categories, I perked up, have read at least five of these books since Summer’s start, and actually have a chance of coming near my “26 in 2026” goa
Today, my mind is still on goals, and after listening to a GRETCHEN RUBIN podcast on proclaiming Summer of ’26 one’s Summer Of _______ title, I am designating the rest of the summer as “My Summer of Restoration”
My physical body after two major surgeries near the end of 2025 needs restoring. My mental and emotional states need restoring, and more self-care is required to do the restorations.
STARTING SOON–LIKE TONIGHT, I plan to…
- Get 7 hours minimum of sleep a night.
- Take life at a slower pace (With feels-like temps hitting 101 and higher most days, it’s too hot to be outside working or running errands anyway.) by doing the minimum: reading inside in the air-conditioning during the hottest part of the day, shopping in the evenings or having things delivered–in other words, making minimum effort to Get Things Done.
- Take pleasure in the rituals of The Little Things, like making iced coffee and watering the plants in the yard early mornings.
With these modifications to my life this summer, Summer of ’26 will surely be a summer of restoration and joy. RAE 7/3/2026
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