My eight-year-old son was really bummed out on Sunday because school was starting this week and he couldn’t accept summer was almost over. And, he’s really not big on school.

“Can’t you home school me?” he asked. “If I home school you,” I retorted, “you’ll end up a ditch digger.”

Not really understanding what that meant, he went off to play with his sister.

I get kids being sad about summer ending, but this week I’ve gotten a flurry of emails and text messages from friends and colleagues about how they’re in a funk because summer is coming to an end. Many haven’t gotten their fill of fun and sun, and more than a few didn’t have the time or resources to take a real vacation.

I don’t blame people for feeling the end of summer blues. I always get a bit sad around this time of year too. And things seem even more gloomy right now because of the struggling economy. Usually the fall was a time when employers ramped up hiring, but this year, most economists predict a continuation of a crummy job market.

Just today, the Conference Board reported online ads for jobs dropped 57,100 in August, after rising nearly 140,000 in the previous month.

“There’s a lot of negativity out there right now,” says Dr. Robert Puff, a clinical psychologist and the author of “Anger Work: How To Express Your Anger and Still Be Kind.”

So, what to do? (more…)