On the Mayor's Mind: Welcome to Summer Recess

Shoreline Mayor Shari Winstead

On the Mayor's Mind

June 30, 2014

By Shoreline Mayor Shari Winstead

Welcome to Summer Recess! It’s not just for kids - City Council is on recess, too. Traditionally we have a two week “recess” at the end of August. This year we decided to change the date so that our recess coincides with the July 4th holiday. There are simply too many fun events in Shoreline at the end of August for anyone to leave town!

To me, part of the fun of being on “recess” is saying “I’m on recess!” Because it makes you feel like a kid again to say the word recess, doesn’t it? Even though I will still be working full-time at my other job, and my calendar shows a handful of City-related meetings over the next two weeks, it really is important to take time to relax and re-energize. For me it means getting back into my workout routine, going to one of my son’s softball games, and heading east of the mountains for some time with family and friends.

It also means reading a book instead of the weekly Council meeting preparation materials. A friend lent me a book that I’m really enjoying, The Right Words at the Right Time, by Marlo Thomas. It’s a collection of stories from hundreds of people (Muhammad Ali to Dave Matthews), about the words of wisdom that made a difference in their life. I thought a lot about putting out a Facebook request for book recommendations, but I knew I would be overwhelmed with great selections. Our recess is barely two weeks long, so I decided not to put too much pressure on myself, and just spend some time reading something meaningful, but not too long. While I love a good book, my “fun” to-do list is pretty long, and reading a book is only one of the things I’ll be doing over the next two weeks.

There won’t be any City Council meetings for the next two Monday evenings, but we will still be checking our email on a daily basis, eating at our local Aurora restaurants and chatting with folks that we randomly run into about the goings on in our beautiful city. In the meantime, I hope that your summer is off to a great start, and that you are enjoying a little recess of your own!

I’d also like to request a moment of personal privilege to send my wonderful husband, Stan Hansen, happy birthday wishes, all the way from Shoreline to Dutch Harbor!

See you in the neighborhood!