Ready for Routine Again

How taking consistent breaks incites a genuine enthusiasm for returning to routines and structure

I love the “break” in Sevilla during the summer, getting to step away from the weekly routines of nonstop activities and plans because the whole city shuts down. One of the best things about that pause is the enthusiasm I feel for stepping back into the routine come September.

Summer is a mix of spending countless hours at the beach with friends, attending nighttime summer concerts at a Spanish palace (for just 7 euros!!), packing and unpacking bags for frequent long weekend trips around the coast, and enjoying a quieter Sevilla where you only step outdoors when the sun goes down, bonding with the few who stay.

After a full two months of the complete absence of routine, the energy shifts. The fun, chaotic rhythm of a fully free summer inevitably begets the craving for routine and structure.

The enthusiasm for the change is equally powerful at both the beginning of summer and end of summer. Every June I’m so excited for the summer ahead, and every end of August I’m so fulfilled from two months of summer bliss that I’m ready to leap back into the normal Sevilla routine that I know and love.

The streets that have been practically empty for weeks on end are suddenly brimming with activity again. Kids are running around the tables in exuberant glee as their grandparents have a caña at one of the terraza tables littering the streets. There’s a hum of conversations, laughs, and cries that replace the profound summer silence. It drifts up to my fifth-floor apartment window as I sit here typing.

Everywhere I walk I see connections and conversations. I appreciate it all the more because, while it never faded entirely, it has been subdued. Residents and the city itself have recharged. You can almost feel Sevilla’s readiness for the change too.

Since Monday, a day hasn’t gone by where I haven’t shared with someone what I did this summer. With coworkers back at the coworking office, with Juanma my favorite fruit shop owner, with the myriad friends and acquaintances I've seen either intentionally or unintentionally, just running into each other in the barrio.

I’ll never tire of running into people I know on the street and it’s an almost daily occurrence for those who live in Sevilla. The perks of living in such a walkable city! It’s been less frequent in these last two months, so experiencing it again reminds me of the value it adds to my daily life.

Just yesterday I ran into a friend from my yoga studio who I hadn’t seen since June. We spent 5 minutes talking about our summers. The sunny surprise of running into someone spontaneously on the street, mixed with the exchange of communal summer adventures can’t be understated. Those small moments of unexpected encounters, even with acquaintances, bring a genuine warmth to the heart. A warmth that is now a close friend.

Another thread that connects everyone in the city is that we all share in the excitement of getting back to the routine. The same dentist I saw earlier this summer who couldn’t wait for summer I saw this week and she said “Se apetece bastante la rutina después de 2 meses de verano, no? (It’s like you really want routine after two months of summer)”

A friend posted on Instagram last night, “bendita rutina” (blessed routine) as she posted a photo from her outdoor workout class at Plaza España that just started up again this week.

I’m so used to people in the US talking about “post-vacation blues”, and I used to experience those too. No wonder! 2 weeks off is hardly enough time to truly unplug. Give yourself some ample time, year over year, and you’ll see how you come to embrace the seasons of change.

This annual ebb and flow to the pace of life in Sevilla feels like a microcosm for the ebbs and flows of life itself. It’s like an energetic balancing. I don’t want to go go go all the time, nor do I want to be on a constant vacation with no structure. Both experiences hold value and the stark contrast of living each experience in cyclically deepens the appreciation for each experience.

And here we are, two months of quiet in the city, of weekends spent at the beach with friends, an extended vacation on the Cadiz coast. I’m ready to get back to my regular routine and feel the city’s aliveness. Thanks to my solid summer break, I feel alive right along with it.