The Summer of YES: There Is Still Time for Your Comeback

Can you believe we're already about halfway through summer? Kids are already going back to school in some parts of the country, fall decorations are creeping into the stores, and I'm over here thinking, wait a minute. I'm not done with summer yet!

So before we start rushing into fall, I thought this was the perfect time for a little Comeback Over 50 check-in.

How is your summer going? And maybe an even better question is: What have you said YES to?

At the beginning of summer, I decided I wanted this to be my Summer of YES. Not yes to everything. One of the benefits of getting older is that I think we've finally earned the right to say NO to things we really don't want to do! I'm talking about saying yes to the things that bring us joy. Getting out of the house. Spending time with people we love. Trying something different. Going somewhere. Doing something just because it sounds fun. Making the memory instead of always saying, "Maybe next time."

And let me tell you, we've been saying yes.

Summer Makes It Easy to Say Yes

Our summer has been one big celebration. We've had graduations, weddings, birthday parties, Father's Day, Fourth of July, family gatherings, road trips and more reasons to celebrate than I can probably remember. We've basically been partying like rock stars.

And I've loved it.

Every one of those celebrations has reminded me how much connection matters. There is something about sitting around a table with people you love, laughing at the same family stories you've heard a hundred times, watching kids run around, dancing at a wedding or just hanging out together on a summer evening that fills your cup in a way very few things can.

That's part of a comeback too.

When I started Comeback Over 50, I knew I wanted to get healthier and stronger. Those things matter tremendously to me. But the more I've thought about what I want this next chapter of my life to look like, the more I've realized that my comeback is about something much bigger.

I want to get back to me.

I want to remember what I love. I want to laugh more. I want to try things. I want to be curious. I want to go places. I want to spend time with people who make me happy. I want to stop thinking that I need to wait for some future version of myself before I fully participate in my life.

And summer makes that incredibly easy.

What Did You Love Before Life Got So Serious?

I've also been thinking about the things that made me ridiculously happy when I was younger.

Music is a big one for me.

This summer I've gone to some great concerts, including Morgan Wallen and Brooks & Dunn, and there is something about live music on a warm summer night that just makes me happy. And Brooks & Dunn? Come on. Like fire up that AC/DC album (yes album) and suddenly I'm 25.

Music does that to us.

So here's an idea: crank up the music you listened to in high school. I'm serious. Find the playlist. Turn it up. Roll down the windows in your car. Sing every word. Dance in your kitchen.

Think about some of the other things you used to love too. When was the last time you played croquet in the backyard? Picked up a badminton racket? Threw a frisbee? Went swimming just because it was hot? Rode a bike? Got on a paddleboard? Played volleyball?

We talk a lot about movement as we get older, and movement is absolutely one of the pillars of my comeback. I want to be stronger and fitter because I want my body to allow me to keep doing all of these things for as long as possible.

But movement doesn't always have to be a workout.

Sometimes movement is play.

Remember when we were kids? Nobody told us we needed to get our steps in. We just went outside. We rode our bikes, swam, ran through sprinklers, played games in the yard and stayed outside until somebody's mom started yelling that it was time for dinner.

Maybe we need a little more of that after 50.

Take the walk. Take the hike. Go to the lake. Work in the garden. Wander through the farmers market on Saturday morning. Dance at the concert. Chase your grandkids around the yard.

Heck, clean out the garage. I can't promise that one will bring you joy, but at least you'll get some steps in and finally be able to park your car in there again.

Sometimes Saying Yes Means Slowing Down

Your Summer of YES doesn't have to be packed with activity either. Some of the best yeses might be the quiet ones.

Get up before everyone else and take your coffee outside. Sit somewhere beautiful and do absolutely nothing for a while. Take a walk through the trees without listening to a podcast or checking your phone. Read a favorite book on the porch. Watch the sunset. Put your bare feet in the grass.

Roll out a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars.

When was the last time you actually stopped and looked at the stars? Or stayed up late enough to even see them, ha!

We spend so much time staring at screens and rushing from one thing to the next that sometimes I think we've forgotten how good it feels to simply be outside and notice the world around us.

That's a comeback too.

The Ordinary Moments Become the Important Ones

We spent time in Ohio this summer visiting our middle daughter, our son-in-law and our two grandkids. My husband is from Ohio, and we've made that long drive from Colorado more times than I could ever count.

Every trip brings back memories of all the summers we've spent there over the years visiting his family.

It also brings back memories of people who aren't there anymore.

His mom and dad. His aunt and uncle. Those precious elders who were always part of our Ohio trips. We always made a point of spending time with them when we came to town, and now I am so incredibly grateful that we did.

Those visits didn't seem extraordinary at the time. We sat around kitchen tables. We ate meals together. We told stories. We laughed. We hugged goodbye and assumed we'd do it all again the next time we came.

Until eventually there wasn't a next time.

Getting older has taught me something I don't think I fully understood when I was younger: you don't always know you're making a memory while you're making it.

That ordinary family dinner might become something you would give anything to experience one more time. The stories you've heard a hundred times might someday be the stories you desperately wish you could hear again.

So go.

Take the trip. Attend the party. Accept the invitation. Visit your family. Call the friend. Stay for another cup of coffee. Take the picture. Dance at the wedding. Hug people a little longer.

Don't keep assuming there will always be a next time.

There Is Still Time to Say Yes

Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "Well, Trish, my summer hasn't looked anything like that."

Maybe you've been working. Maybe you've been busy taking care of everyone else. Maybe you've been tired. Maybe you had all kinds of plans in June and suddenly you looked at the calendar and realized summer was flying by.

That's why I'm writing this.

There is still time.

You don't need to book an expensive vacation or create some giant Summer of YES bucket list. Just decide you're going to participate a little more in the summer that's left.

Find a free outdoor concert. Go to the farmers market. Pack a picnic. Take the hike you've been talking about taking. Call someone you haven't seen in a while. Drive somewhere you've never been, even if it's only 30 minutes away.

Get in the bathing suit and hit the pool with your besties!

Get in the picture.

Get in the water.

Do something you loved when you were 17. Try something you've never done before. Or find somewhere beautiful, sit down and enjoy the fact that you are here.

Because Comeback Over 50 isn't about trying to become 30 again.

I don't want to be 30 again.

I want to be fully alive at 62.

I want to be stronger, fitter and braver. I want to be curious and adventurous. I want to take care of my body so it can carry me to the places I still want to go. I want to spend time with people I love. I want to laugh until my stomach hurts. I want to dance to old songs and discover new ones.

Most of all, I don't want to sit on the sidelines of my own life.

That's my comeback.

And yours doesn't have to look anything like mine.

Maybe your comeback is getting stronger. Maybe it's rediscovering something you used to love. Maybe it's making new friends, starting over after loss, traveling, changing careers, finding your confidence again or simply waking up excited about your life.

Whatever your comeback looks like, there is still time this summer to take another step toward it.

So say yes.

Say yes to the invitation. Say yes to the walk. Say yes to the music. Say yes to the adventure. Say yes to quiet mornings and loud concerts and family dinners and ridiculous amounts of laughter.

Hell yes!

Say yes to the people you love.

Say yes to joy.

Say yes to summer.

And most importantly, say YES to your comeback.

We've still got summer left.

Let's use it.

Hell yes.

Check out my video: https://youtu.be/Z2uFiDRJxPk