$pent Millennial

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Dear Reader,

I miss August.

And yes — I know. It’s only the second weekend of August.

But I miss the August of my childhood.

Back then, August felt like the still month. Too hot to do much of anything except maybe lie in the sun until your skin tingled, then plunge into ice-cold water, dive deep enough that the noise of the world disappeared, and come up without the faintest clue what day of the week it was.

Lately, August doesn’t feel still at all. It feels shorter. (Don’t all the months?) It feels rushed. The air — and the airwaves — are already full of pumpkin spice release dates, back-to-school sales, Halloween decorations popping up between the sunscreen and citronella candles.

Yes, I realize this “season pushing” happens year-round. Fall is just trying to get its moment before Christmas takes over entirely. And fall is my favorite, so I get it. But it’s more than that. It’s not just capitalism rushing the calendar — it’s the busyness we put on ourselves and each other.

My inbox is stacked with “before September” deadlines. My calendar is dotted with meetings, events, conferences. All of it crammed in before… what? Before we lose the light? Before we lose our nerve? 

As a kid, August was the pause before the plunge. A month to rest, reset, and store up the energy for a fresh school year — new notebooks, new outfits, and a mind that felt ready. That pause made the plunge exciting.

Now? I have PTO, and I’m grateful for it. But who has the time to use it? 

Even adults need that stillness. A week or two of losing track of the date, of feeling the slow simmer of summer before the shock of the cold water. We might even need it more now than we did as children. 

The problem is, our culture doesn’t really allow for pause. If you step off the treadmill — the one cranked up to 10 miles per hour, max incline — you risk falling behind– even more than you already are. And then how do you catch up?  

So most of us just keep running. Even on vacation, we answer emails “just to stay ahead” and post carefully curated beach photos to LinkedIn, making rest look productive.

This weekend, I tried to slide off the treadmill. I took Friday and Monday off — a four-day weekend. My grand plan: to claim a little stillness in the sun.

And then I immediately booked my Friday solid. Just one mid-day volunteer committee meeting, and a few “just quick” work emails – that I might as well do while logged on, laundry at the laundromat (#OfficiallyStillRenting), travel plans to get to Chicago.

My first day “off” quickly became more rushed, more time-constrained, and more stressful than a day at the office. And I was feeling it. 

By noon, I realized my bus-to-Chicago plan was just setting me up to spend the day racing — not resting.

So I pushed back. On myself.

I pivoted: I’d leave Saturday morning instead. No rush to the bus. No navigating late-night transit in the city. Just a full (or half) day to enjoy without the scramble.

And I felt lighter instantly.

Then, sitting at the laundromat with an iced coffee, the August heat pressing in, I saw another flurry of emails come in — this time from a different volunteer board: a call for “all hands on deck,” a grant deadline, another urgent request.

I let it sit.

For now, I’m choosing to practice the pause. To soak in what’s left of the stillness. To lose myself in the sun, the water, and the timelessness of August — before it’s gone.

Happy August, dear reader. I hope you find some time to do the same.

Until next week,

Everett

P.S. Earth Breeze is not a sponsor- but I’d be happy to have them. 😂