The dog days of summer are here.  The days that make us all crazy.  The monotony and the heat build up to kill any morale we can muster for our busy schedules.  All we want to do is enjoy the summer, but all we seem to have the energy for when it's all said and done is eating, sleeping, and repeat.  

Right about now, if you haven't yet said them, there are at least four words on your mind.  

"I need a vacation."

But sadly, by this time of year, most, if not all of your vacation days are either long gone, or called for.  Believe me, I feel your plight here completely.  In the last year, I just moved over 1000 miles from my family back in Indiana.  So, pretty much all of my extended vacation time is spent trying to make it up there.  Now that the claustrophobic feeling knowing that we're all now stuck with this schedule for what may seem like forever, how are we going to survive without completely loosing our minds?

Well, I've found a solution.  Much like the Mad-Hatter and the Rabbit celebrated un-birthdays, you just need to make your own un-vacation. Take a quick look at your schedule and notice that day or two that you actually do have off.  Yeah, those days you typically spend on the couch, in the AC, watching netflix. Alright, so, take the first one of those, and call a friend, or better yet, all your friends, and go to the park!

Yes, I know you have one.  You pretty much have to have access to some kind of recreational area within some walking or short driving distance from where you are.  Granted, it may not be as beautiful as Austin's Zilker Park, but I'm sure you can make do.  And now that you are there, play!  

Again, I know what you're thinking, "I'm [insert age here], nothing I do could possibly be considered playing."

Well, I'm requesting a change in that too.  I'm not ashamed to say I'm 24 (and 1/2) years old, and two days ago, I picked up a velcro ball and mitt set and relived a bit of my childhood tossing the ball around.  I actually had a blast with the simple low-impact time in the sun.  Probably the best $2 I had spent in a while.

Yes, it did take a little coaxing to get myself out in the 100 degree Texan heat when I was so "tired".  But, when I came back afterward, a strange thing happened.  I wasn't just a little sunburnt (don't forget the SPF!!!) and tired, but I was way more relaxed.  Things that normally bothered me seemed more easy to get by, dinner tasted better, and I slept way deeper than I had in the past couple weeks.  I returned to the ol' grind the next day in a much better mood, and I'm sure it was noticeable.