August Is Still Summer

Everyone I know seems to be saying the same thing right now: “Can you believe it’s already August?” Usually followed by something like, “Where did the summer go?” My friends in Georgia started sharing first day of school posts for their kids online last week. Here in North Carolina, it starts a week from tomorrow. And while I know there are some parents out there saying, “Thank God,” all I can think is, too soon. And, honestly, it’s too damn hot.

When I was a kid, my family spent many summers in New England. My father was a teacher, and both to make money and to give us a summer experience, he taught in summer schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I often describe it as “summer camp with your whole family.” My brother and I learned how to swim and to sail in a lake at the base of a mountain. We took art classes and sports classes and as we got older a few academic classes. We made great friends, had weekly root beer floats, played and roamed with freedom. We had a summer.

And when we returned in August each year, we still didn’t start school again until after Labor Day. In fact, growing up I was always bummed out about this because my birthday is at the end of August and I never got to do the traditional school birthday celebration.

Fast forward to June 1, 2010, when I returned to work at my alma mater, Wake Forest University. That first summer I was more bored than I had ever been at work. No one was there. Everyone – and I mean everyone – took extended vacations and disconnected from the place, so that they could return in the fall refreshed and renewed. I was so bored, I remember saying to someone, “If this continues, I’m not sure I can do this.” Well, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. There has not been a similar summer since.

We have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with work and productivity in this country. This has been well-documented and examined by many others (people who know me know how I love the book The Good Enough Job, as one example). I don’t know what the answer to this is, but it does not seem to be getting better. We talk about it a lot. There’s been a “Great Reckoning” to go along with the “Great Resignation” during COVID. I spend a lot of my time these days talking with professionals of all ages about their desire to recalibrate their relationship with work. Unfortunately, for most of us, that simply can’t happen on an individual basis. It’s going to require systemic, structural change.

But I know we can’t continue like this. It’s not just that we deserve a summer, or that we’ve earned it. It’s that we actually need it. Our health, our relationships, and ultimately, our ability to be productive, requires active downtime. We need a break. We all need a break.

So even as the start of school and fall holidays (already saw my first Halloween candy display, y’all) and the increased pressure of expectations race towards us, let’s not forget: August is still summer. Every single day of it. It’s time we claim it back.