How I Want To Spend My Time In August

Savoring summer's end

“This is my happiness,” he says, full smile—all teeth and dimples. His shirt is stretched thin across his broad shoulders, dark with sweat. I can feel the dampness of my own shirt clinging to my skin as he pulls me in tighter to his side, giving me a gentle squeeze.

“We’re raising a city kid,” he adds, and I’m beaming with my own happiness as we look over to our little girl, her face an expression of serenity as she licks melted ice cream from her hand.

We’ve just walked a mile through our bustling, vibrant Chicago neighborhood to the ice cream shop. The one with the quirky flavors and neon sign and a window to watch where it all gets made.

I close my eyes and try to remember every detail: the air heavy and thick like a hug, the cicadas humming and pulsing in the background, the way the sunlight brings out the golden strands in my daughter’s hair, the skyline peeking at us down alleyways and odd corners of our walk.

It’s a simple pleasure. A totally mundane evening, but I know we’re both going to remember it forever. That it’ll be a moment we return to again and again.

Summer is coming to a close just as fast as I anticipated. When I quit working in June, I knew it would move like this. And now here we are, just three short weeks away from my daughter beginning kindergarten—her first year of full-time school.

So, August is about savoring summer’s end for me—chasing that feeling from our family ice cream walk.

Speaking of getting into a flow state while creating… ;)

That’s a nod to the thing I’ve been building all summer. It’s an app, also called Time Spent, and at its core, it’s a way to feel more in control over your time and hold onto the evenings like the one my family shared. Those ordinary, joyful moments that so rarely make the to-do list, but are arguably the best investment we can make with our time.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it, same time, same place next week!