WEBVTT - Create your recipe for a good long weekend

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to create your recipe for a good long weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>When you know what makes time off work feel special

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<v Speaker 1>for you, you will be able to put these components

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<v Speaker 1>together easily in the future. So this episode is first

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<v Speaker 1>airing on Juneteenth, twenty twenty six in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>our newest federal holiday, one celebrating Emancipation. Lots of communities

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<v Speaker 1>will have festivals and events, and lots of people will

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<v Speaker 1>have the day off work. This year, Juneteenth falls on

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<v Speaker 1>a Friday, which means that this is a long summer

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<v Speaker 1>weekend for many people. But even if you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>the day off, long weekends happen with some regularity, whether

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<v Speaker 1>for a Memorial Day or Labor Day, or if your

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<v Speaker 1>office here in the US will be closed for the

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<v Speaker 1>Friday before the Fourth of July weekend. Other countries obviously

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<v Speaker 1>have their own holidays. These little breaks in the schedule

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<v Speaker 1>can offer the opportunity for rejuvenation and adventures and meaning. However,

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<v Speaker 1>in many cases, like all units of time, long weekends

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<v Speaker 1>can be spent unintentionally. You may want to do nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is impossible to do nothing. You will do something,

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<v Speaker 1>but it might not be nearly as rejuvenating as if

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<v Speaker 1>you had put some thought into it. Think lots of scrolling,

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<v Speaker 1>half hearted email checks, puttering around the house, making a

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<v Speaker 1>little progress on a project, but not enough to feel

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<v Speaker 1>accomplished kids various places. So, instead, going into any long weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>do a few things to make it more enjoyable, relaxing,

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<v Speaker 1>and memorable. Figure out what a good long weekend looks

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<v Speaker 1>like for you, and then you can repeat these components

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<v Speaker 1>in the future. For me, the recipe for a good

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<v Speaker 1>long weekend first starts with knowing it is coming up.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope you've got any office closures or holidays on

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<v Speaker 1>your calendar, and I hope you occasionally take PTO to

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<v Speaker 1>create a long weekend. Then for me, the recipe calls

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<v Speaker 1>for doing one anchor event each day. This is one

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<v Speaker 1>slightly more substantial event to make the day feel like

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<v Speaker 1>it happened. If you will be coordinating with anyone like

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<v Speaker 1>family members or friends, it's best to decide these anchor

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<v Speaker 1>events ahead of time. That way, you don't waste time

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<v Speaker 1>on your weekend. Decide what to do that can burn

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<v Speaker 1>up a lot of energy. You make arrangements and know

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<v Speaker 1>when you need to go so that you can organize

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<v Speaker 1>your days in an orderly fashion. Long weekends in particular

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<v Speaker 1>are great for doing items on your local bucket list.

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<v Speaker 1>If you haven't made such a list, now would be

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<v Speaker 1>a great time to do so. What are fun things

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<v Speaker 1>within an hour or so of your house? What looks appealing?

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<v Speaker 1>What do you keep saying you should try? You might

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<v Speaker 1>decide that plucking something from this list could go in

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<v Speaker 1>your recipe for a good long weekend. Of course, there

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<v Speaker 1>might already be events on your calendar. If so, is

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<v Speaker 1>there anything you could do to make them more fun

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<v Speaker 1>or more memorable. Maybe you are going to a soccer tournament,

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<v Speaker 1>but see that there is a county fair nearby that

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<v Speaker 1>you could visit. Maybe there is an ice cream par

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<v Speaker 1>or nearby that makes those best of lists. When you

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<v Speaker 1>plan ahead, you can add these adventures on. You might

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<v Speaker 1>also think about the mix of activities in general for

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<v Speaker 1>a weekend. I like the idea of doing something physical,

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<v Speaker 1>something social, and something spiritual. These are categories of activities

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<v Speaker 1>that people generally enjoy. See my do a by ride,

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<v Speaker 1>a cookout with friends, and go to worship services, or

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<v Speaker 1>volunteer somewhere. The spiritual category might also be addressed by

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<v Speaker 1>doing something or going somewhere that inspires awe. Climb a

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<v Speaker 1>mountain and look at the view, and that could do

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<v Speaker 1>it for you right there. You should also think ahead

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<v Speaker 1>about what your first choice activity is for any downtime.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that going into a long weekend, I like

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<v Speaker 1>to either have a puzzle going or be reading a

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<v Speaker 1>really good bo book. That way, when a spot of

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<v Speaker 1>time opens up, I don't wander around figuring out what

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<v Speaker 1>to do with it. If you think about this ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of time, you can stop by the library to get

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<v Speaker 1>a book you're excited about. But if you haven't thought

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<v Speaker 1>about it, you can get ebooks instantly for not that much,

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<v Speaker 1>or make sure you've got hobby supplies for whatever you'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to do. And finally, I think a recipe for

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<v Speaker 1>a good long weekend would include something light but fun

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<v Speaker 1>on the last evening. If you've got Friday off, then

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<v Speaker 1>we are talking Sunday evening. If you've got Monday off,

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<v Speaker 1>then of course we're talking Monday evening. After a long weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be easy to feel a bit let down.

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<v Speaker 1>It's back to normal life. Those feelings can eat up

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<v Speaker 1>a big chunk of your last weekend day. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you plan something enjoyable for that evening, you will spend

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<v Speaker 1>your day looking forward to that rather than dwelling on

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<v Speaker 1>what is coming up afterwards. This can stretch out the fun.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's my recipe. An anchor event each day, ideally

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<v Speaker 1>doing something physical, something social, something spiritual. Figure out your

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<v Speaker 1>first choice for downtime, and plan something fun for the

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<v Speaker 1>last night. Your recipe might be similar, or it might

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<v Speaker 1>be a bit different. Maybe your first choice for long

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<v Speaker 1>weekends is always to take a trip somewhere not too far,

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<v Speaker 1>but far enough that it doesn't quite fit in a

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<v Speaker 1>normal weekend. But it helps to have a recipe because

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<v Speaker 1>when you do, you can just plug in the ingredients.

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<v Speaker 1>You aren't starting from scratch. You know what makes a

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<v Speaker 1>good long weekend, and so the planning is pretty easy.

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<v Speaker 1>You move on swiftly to the doing. In the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.