“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime!”
~ Kenny Chesney

I have worked every summer of my life since I was eighteen years old. I was a camp counselor, educational director at an overnight camp, graduate student, university instructor, professional developer, or on a 12-month educational contract. There was no such thing as a summer off…until now. I am trying something totally new this summer. It’s called a “Summer Sabbatical!” I have no intention of making you jealous. It is just how opportunities presented themselves for this summer.
Within 80 days, my partner and I have been invited by a beloved friend to be on a Croatian cruise around the Adriatic. I’m stunned. And, for the second time, I’m raising money for Ukrainian refugees which includes riding my bike for 60 miles from Auschwitz to Krakow, Poland, supported by the Ride for the Living and the JCC Krakow. Since there is some time between getting off the cruise boat and showing up in Krakow ready to pedal, and since we have to change planes in Rome to get there anyway, you got it. We’ll be playing in Italy.
In July, I will be spending a week at our beach house entertaining a beloved friend, enjoying a family reunion at a resort in Carlsbad, California, and climbing mountains in Colorado Springs where my daughter and son-in-law just moved. In August I’ll be working, but it gets to be in Naples, Florida, the Cayman Islands, and Vilnius, Lithuania. I top off the summer both working and playing in Israel.
I am grateful that I get to see my family and hike some more. I am excited to be running, doing, sailing, hiking, biking, and just having fun without a deadline in sight. I will not be researching, writing books, or thinking academically. I want to see where my mind will wander and listen to what the universe has to tell me. I can’t do that when I am catching planes, racing to a zoom call, or writing a proposal.
Floating. What a concept. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I know that I am very blessed to have wonderful friends, family, and client schools in beautiful places which makes all this possible. I also know that the idea of a “summer sabbatical” is not dependent on getting your passport stamped and hopping on a plane. It can be in your backyard or embedded in a book you can’t put down.
What is your summer sabbatical plan? How will you push pause on your metaphorical treadmill and be still, deep in thought, or deep in laughter and appreciation? It’s food for the soul and we all need feeding.
Warmest regards,
Fran

Let these quotes inspire you to consider a summer sabbatical:
- “Summertime. It was a song. It was a season. I wondered if that season would ever live inside of me.” ~ Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- “And so, with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ~ The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” ~ Sam Keen
- “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ~ Henry James
- “I’d like to call back summertime, and have it stay another month or so.” ~ Joni Mitchell

Five books to enjoy for a summer sabbatical:
- The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
- What Happened to You: Conversations about Trauma, Resilience and Healing, by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry
- Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
- The Boys from Biloxi, by John Grisham
- The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende

Classic feel-good summer songs we all love:
- Under the Boardwalk by the Drifters
- Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts
- Urge for Going by Joni Mitchell
- Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone
- School’s Out by Alice Cooper

June, July, August 2023
June 1, 2023
Lead Team Leadership Training, Arlington Public Schools, VA
June 8, 2023
Principal Coaching, Arlington Public Schools, VA
June 10-14, 2023
Croatia, Cruise
June 24-27, 2023
Italy
June 27-July 3, 2023
Poland, Auschwitz to Krakow Ride for the Living
July 7-21, 2023
Beach, Lewes, Delaware
July 24, 2023
School Board Training, Louisville, KY
July 26-31, 2023
Family Reunion. Carlsbad, California
August 1-3, 2023
Teacher Leadership Training, Arlington Public Schools, VA
August 10-20, 2023
Cayman International School Organizational Development, Cayman Islands
August 22-28, 2023
AISV and VIS. Vilnius, Lithuania
August 29-Sept. 7, 2023
Hebrew University, Israel