Made Your July 1 Resolutions?

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But sometimes, as a wise boss told me, we need a change even more than a rest. There has to be a reason why people devote their precious two weeks of repose to sweaty hikes through Mayan ruins or intensive courses in power knitting. It could be that the most refreshing break of all is to think about nothing familiar for a while, go someplace strange and learn something new, forget who you are during the rest of the year. Maybe the perfect summer is one that makes room for both, for accidents and adventures and long drives with no maps and hard work at something we don't get paid for, except in satisfaction.

This is a season to savor for its many gifts. We have license to run and hide, hold the mail, introspect; but there is something about this year that calls us to do the opposite. If we all go on a retreat, merely peeking at the pageants of the Olympics, the party conventions, it will be with the knowledge of what awaits us when we get back. We'll need to have recharged because we are living history now, making historic choices. It is not the crisp midwinter, when we have to be serious. But this summer, maybe we should resolve to be. At least, when Labor Day comes around ...