Despite the fact that stores will put summer things on sale this week and the "Back to School" displays will appear, we  aren't even halfway through summer yet! There are 14 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We just began week 6! You still have 2 full months (8 weeks) of summer to enjoy. Plenty of time for lazy picnics and grilling in the yard, short trips, lying in the sun and reading, planting, visiting farmers' markets, hitting the beach or pool — whatever makes you happy.

It's become all too common to live based on retailers' sales calendars rather than the seasons. They start pushing summer in late April/early May, so we think summer is here. Back to school sales start in July — even though the start of school is still more than a month away in most places, and it seems to cut our summer short. By Labor Day, we see Halloween (and even Christmas!). By early November, wall-to-wall Christmas movies have begun. By the time the actual holiday arrives, we have Christmas fatigue.

The retailers plan sales so they can move merchandise. They want you to shop more so that you will buy more. But we can opt out. You don't need to buy summer things until (and unless!) you need them. (You may not need brand new lawn furniture, but you are likely to need sunscreen!) You can not decorate for Halloween until after Columbus Day. You can DVR the early Christmas movies and watch them in an eggnog-tinged binge between Christmas and New Years.

Live the seasons – not the sales.