How I spent my summer vacation

Although it got off to a real rocky start with that Game 7 loss in LA, it’s been a summer to remember. Many of you already know the big news … which is that I got married this summer. So that is really the highlight without a doubt. It was one of the happiest days of my life. Afterward, we went to Napa Valley for our honeymoon, which was incredible. I didn’t know how beautiful it is up there.

The other big news, which you probably all have heard by now, is that I re-signed with the Celtics! I’m very excited to be back. I have always said that I would love to retire as a Celtic and re-signing here will allow me to do that.

This has been one of the shortest summers ever – it’s almost time to report to training camp already. First, our long run to the Finals, but then by the time I was over that, I was getting married, onto my honeymoon and we are at September already. Crazy.

Spending time with my family was really another highlight. I have been watching my 2-year-old daughter learn to swim. She is taking swimming lessons and watching her try to put her face in the water is too funny.

I’ve been salt water fishing a few times this summer. I go with my mom and uncle. We had a lot of fun, even though we didn’t catch what we wanted to catch, just some trout! But just going out there, like we used to was amazing. We go out at like 5 in the morning, drive two hours and stay out until about 5 in the evening. I just love it. We sit in the boat and talk and talk. We have our sandwiches; throw out the pole and just chill out.

I also had my basketball camp recently at Basketball City in Boston. It was incredible. It was so great to see so many kids having fun. My foundation is about getting kids to be healthy – The Truth on Health. It is so important for kids to be active and it made me feel so good watching kids being active and having a great time. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to be able to participate in sports.

Whatever time I have left (outside a family vacation) I will be spending time working on my program – The Truth on Health – which is helping motivate kids to be active. I am so proud of what we are doing and I am trying to do as much as I can for the program before the season gets underway! You’ll hear more about that later! But one thing is for sure - you can’t do anything in life if you don’t have your health.

So all in all, I’ve had a pretty well-balanced summer and I’ve enjoyed it, especially being able to spend all that time with my family.

We are about a month away and then it’s on. Our run at Banner 18 begins again.

Paul Pierce's FitClub34 by Harvard Pilgrim is a Truth Fund program providing children with the information, resources, and tools necessary to become more active and physically fit. To learn more, visit www.truthonhealth.org