A holiday

Summer holidays are here… and everything that goes along with them.

The warm summer sun, afternoons spent at the beach, boating, fishing, golfing and roasting marshmallows over a campfire are just a few of the favorite summer time activities you can enjoy in Saskatchewan.

What is it about holidays that makes them so enjoyable? Is it the food, the drinks, the family, the friends or a combination of them all? Maybe it's just the idea of getting away and trying something new - the idea of "getting away from it all".

That's when the answer came to me. Well, actually it called me. My phone rang and rang and rang. I was at a beautiful lake with tasty food, cold drinks, great family and fun friends, yet I was unable to enjoy the moment because of my phone and all the calls and texts that had me dealing with life back home.

What I really needed was a holiday from my phone. A holiday where you didn't spend hours scrolling through social media, watching everyone else have fun at the lake, because you are too busy having fun of your own. A holiday where you didn't see photos of what your neighbors were serving for dinner because you are too busy roasting a hot dog over an open fire. A holiday where you don't think of texting your friends to see what they are up to because you are so busy having a good time with the ones that are there with you.

That's when I realized that the best part of a holiday is leaving it all behind, which meant putting my phone down. What I really needed a holiday from, was my phone.
The summer season is short in Saskatchewan. You never know what the next day will bring (let alone the weather).

It's time to take a break from technology, spend less time looking down at the screen and more time looking up at what's going on around us. Better than any photo on the computer of tasty food, days at the lake or roasting marshmallows, are the REAL moments.

The memories you make while tasting the fish you caught that afternoon, the water you accidentally swallowed while tubing at the lake or the sound of a real fire crackling late at night under the stars.
So this summer, remember to take a holiday. It doesn't matter where you go, or who you are with, all you need to do is turn your phone off.