The summer season with kids is unlike any other and they are ready for the summer magic to begin immediately! When the kids come off that bus on the last day of school, all structure goes out the window and the work – I mean fun – begins. There, I said it. Summer for moms is HARD WORK!
Don’t get me wrong, summer is all about the fun. Summer camps, play dates, Zoo trips, outdoor adventures with the family, and normally an out of state vacation. My three kids live their best lives all summer long. And, yes, of course I have fun, too. But the summer magic that goes behind all this fun has this mama exhausted!
To the kids, summer starts on the last day of school. For moms, summer starts six to eight months before that when the vacation rental has to be booked and the summer camp schedules are released. And, oh the juggling of schedules to ensure no kids’ camp overlaps with another. By January, my summer calendar is already halfway booked for June and July!
Then summer approaches and all those activities you scheduled begin. Which means now coordinating the carpools to ensure your kids and all their friends will get to and from all above-mentioned activities! My car gets more miles during the summer than any other season. I am a full-time taxi, but instead of a tip my “customers” leave me a messy car filled with snack crumbs and wrappers.
Which leads me to another matter – meals! How in the world am I supposed to cook dinner for my family when we are all being pulled in different directions just to make the schedule of our summer days work? And really, why would I want to put in that work when I’m busy enough already? The kids become all day grazers, with full access to the pantry, snacking in their down time and in the car. I have to hire a healthy meal delivery service, so our diets don’t suffer from fast food drive-thrus.
I know what you’re thinking, I am complaining about a situation I created on my own free will. And you know what? You are absolutely right. I’m the one who fine tunes our summer schedule so that my kids can enjoy all of the activities and time with friends and family that they crave during the school year. I’m the one who scrapes up money throughout the year so we can take a vacation and spend a week adventuring in a new place. I’m the one who bends over backwards to make it happen, despite the hard work it puts on myself. But I do it because summer is meant to be a break from the norm – a season of carefree fun in the sun, and that’s exactly what I want for my kids. I want them to look back on their childhood summers as some of the most memory-filled times of their lives. Because that’s what it is to me. I want us all to feel the summer magic.
So to the mamas who are out there giving their kids a magical summer, I see you. I see you giving it your all so that your family can live their best lives this summer. I also know what you’re doing isn’t easy, and it’s okay to complain about it all in good fun. Sometimes it’s what helps us keep our sanity! But we are in this together for the sake of hoping one day our kids will appreciate it all, and that they will continue to pass on the summer magic and fun to their families someday. Cheers to summer, mamas!
