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Do you have the September Scaries?
I realize the month has already started, but there’s something very stressful about the End of Summer, isn’t there? Even if you’re not headed back to school, there’s a distinct buckle-down, get-to-work vibe that comes with the cursed short week after Labour Day.
I read this article about the September Scaries in the New York Times — the author of which also happens to share my months-as-days theory, I see!!! — and agreed with the psychologist Kari Leibowitz’s point that “we underestimate how much our scripts and our narratives about the season really affect us.”
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Summer is a weird one because while it’s associated with fun and freedom, there’s also a lot of emphasis on making the most of the season. I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but my favourite quote about summer comes from Bob’s Burgers. “Summer is awful. There’s too much pressure to enjoy yourself.”
For me, personally, how I feel about a season change has much to do with how I spent — or didn’t spend — the season preceding it.
You may recall a newsletter from May wherein I set an intention to make a Fun List for summer so I didn’t spend it scrolling. And I have to say, this experiment was good. It helped me feel like I didn’t “miss” or “waste” summer. The list changed a bit in the intervening months, but I am happy to report that I checked off a lot of things. And some of those things were small, such as eat more ice cream!
Here’s what I got up to:
1. Spend time with my little old baby ✔️Samson, my 12-year-old diabetic dog, has been doing remarkably well health wise, which feels like a win. We went for walks, we snugged, we went to the P-A-R-K, which is his favourite place to pee.
2. Go to The Red River Ex with my dad and brothers ✔️They go every year and this year I tagged along. I did zero rides but ate 1,000 mini doughnuts and had a great time with my fam.
3. See a Sea Bears game ✔️I am a fan! Vibes = immaculate. If you haven’t been to one, put it on your list for next season.
4. Spend a week at the lake ✔️My in-laws have a beautiful place just over the Manitoba-Ontario border that we are privileged to enjoy but don’t get out to nearly enough, so my husband and I spent a full week there this year. Also, I highly recommend getting breakfast at The Hungry Pug if you’re in Kenora.
5. Get back to Folk Fest ✔️I hadn’t been to the festival since before the pandemic. I had to work and it was SO HOT but I met several cool people from Minneapolis by taking the bus there, which was something new for me and I cannot recommend it more.
6. Have fun at Fringe ✔️This is the Arts department’s Super Bowl, but I was determined to not stress this year and I was (mostly) successful.
7. See Twisters in the movie theatre ✔️Twister, the original from 1996, is my favourite movie and I’m so glad this sequel (but really its own thing) was so good.
8. Do an overnight staycation at the Delta ✔️Did you know they have a rooftop pool?!
9. Go on a travel media tour to Door County, Wisconsin ✔️I want to do more travel writing for the Freep and I’m proud of myself for doing something new (a.k.a. travelling with a bunch of strangers). I met amazing people and had the best time in a truly beautiful (and new to me) part of the world. Story coming soon!
10. Eat more ice cream ✔️It used to be ”eat more hot dogs” until I realized I didn’t have a single scoop of ice cream last year. The brown butter and dark chocolate swirl from Bogart’s in Minneapolis was, hands down, the best ice cream I ate this summer — a delightful discovery thanks to a new pal from Des Moines who I met on the Wisconsin trip. We both got stuck in Minneapolis because apparently I can’t go anywhere without Having A Problem.
11. Catch a Goldeyes game ✔️It really is a quintessential summer-in-the-city activity.
I also had some bad stuff happen to me this summer — ruptured ovarian cyst, weird neck injury requiring many hours of physio — but overall, it was a great one, and I think it was a great one because I had a bucket of activities to choose from that weren’t Be On Phone.
I’m going to do a similar list for fall, and I’m hoping you’ll feel inspired to do the same. Mine will probably be quieter (and less spendy) than my summer list, so I’m thinking re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series will be on there and, I don’t know, carving a pumpkin.
It’s also still very much summer out, weather-wise, so we don’t need to worry about fall just yet. The patio is still calling my name. But tell me: how do you want to spend your fall, y’all?
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