With a collective sigh, September is upon us and another summer season is tucked away.

Although we have some glorious days to look forward to throughout the next couple of months, soon the nearby mountains, which have become so impossibly bare, will start to show a white dusting on their summits and golden larches on their slopes. And that’s ok, too.

This summer, I made a point of taking lots of time to play. After all, this is what kids do all season long, and they tend to have the best summer holidays.

Cycling, paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, surfing, golfing, running, horseback riding, swimming, these are just a few ways that I kept active this summer. All this exertion was refuelled by visits on neighbourhood patios, backyard BBQs, farmers’ market potluck feasts, berry picking and enjoying all the great, fresh foods summer can provide.

I frequented my favourite places in the Bow Valley (and found some new ones too), explored some nearby lakes, enjoyed summer in the city and made two separate pilgrimages to one of the best playgrounds in the country -Tofino, BC (more on that later).

Taking time to play when you have a full-time job requires more careful scheduling than most kids have to face (thank goodness for long , non-curfew weekday evenings us adults can program into our lives), but I find the more I bring to “play” time, the better I perform at work, too.

Summer is about remembering to take a “time out” from routine by taking full advantage of our long days and lingering evenings.  It’s about planning great escapes but also making room for spontaneous adventures too.

Let’s not let the threat of cooler days put a “pause” to our “play” – fall and winter are spectacular too.

But I will miss having the sunroof open.