This past week the pinks and purples of irises, roses and lupin bid their farewells in my gardens. Now my hillside is in bloom with the tiger lilies and black eyed susan’s, their beautiful orange and gold colors signaling the most subtle shift toward autumn. Even though the heat and humidity of high summer is just now arriving in Maine, there is a sense of urgency to hurry up and enjoy the nice weather while we have it. The Wheel of the Year always seems to turn the fastest in the space between Litha and Lughnasadh.

I love summer, but often wonder if I am not doing it correctly. All my friends - online and IRL - seem to be enjoying an endless array of barbeques and camping trips and summer concerts. Meanwhile, I’m happy to be home, alone, writing, reading or puttering in the garden. I often wonder if I need more friends or need to make more of an effort to be social? I realize that what we see on social media is just a highlight reel of someone’s life, but every summer I still experience a twinge of FOMO. But at the same time, I’ve come to realize that I need a hefty dose of solitude to recharge, and summertime is no exception.

So, imagine my delight when I stumbled across the term JOMO this past weekend. JOMO stands for the Joy of Missing Out and Dictionary.com defines it as:

pleasure derived from living in a quiet or independent way without feeling anxious that one is missing out on exciting or interesting events that may be happening elsewhere

I liked the term so much, I wanted to share it as this week’s printable. I hope you like it!

Grab your free JOMO print - 1 PDF download

Just to be clear, I am not a total hermit in the summer. Next week all my chicks are returning to the nest and I am very excited to have us all together again. We will have barbeques and campfires and there may be some singing involved. I’ll also visit the coast again later this month. But the rest of my summer is delightfully plan-less. And that is just fine by me.