I couldn’t help but giggle as I looked around the last Friday mass of the school year before summer break. All around me were pairs of beat up tennis shoes, pants that were all about two inches too short, and shirts that had that grey end of the school year look despite the desperate attempts to soak them in OxiClean. Those uniforms looked a lot like I felt: tired and ready for a break from the wonderfully exhausting school year.
May was brutal.
There were class projects, AR goals, water parties, Luau themes, end of the year gifts, end of the year parties, unexpected stomach viruses, and more. The fun felt like it would never end. If I’m being totally honest (and let’s be real, when am I not?), I usually dread summer break. I have three perfectly beautiful, perfectly healthy, and perfectly energetic little boys.
The school year gives me a respite from that energy and helps me function more like a normal person. Summer is always looming over me reminding me that for 10 weeks, there is no respite. Just me and my boys night and day…day and night…together…bonding…without a moment of quiet. BUT May was like those last few weeks of pregnancy when even child birth would be better than continuing on being gigantically pregnant, and I found myself ready to embrace summer for a break from the engagements, responsibilities, and deadlines.
As I sit and prepare for the beautiful chaos that will be my summer, I had some thoughts for all of you wonderful moms out there braving another summer at home with your kids.
And so, without further ado, I give you the Summer Blessing:
May the summer camps be abundant, exhausting, and cheap. May you pick up a child who has had a ton of fun in the hands of energetic and honorable camp counselors and is ready to recount it all over dinner before crashing into bed excited to do it all again tomorrow.
May you load up after a fun morning at the park or splash pad just as the four busses full of children arrive for their summer field trip.
May your vacations be full of easy travels, big fun, and a million memories made. May all the Pinterest “how to travel with children” tips actually work and your car rides or plane flights be painless. May no trip be christened with vomiting.
May you never tire of the endless summer cycle of packing and unpacking. Packing swim stuff, towels, and suncreen. Packing dry clothes. Packing picnic lunches. Unpacking dirty clothes, water bottles, and Tupperware to wash. And repeat. Now repeat again. Just keep doing it until August actually.
May no summer cold or virus grace your home.
May the Target swimsuits be good to you. May they cover up all of your perceived flaws for an incredibly reasonable price. Heck, may you even find two.
May you find a booth next to the play place window every time you enter a Chick-fil-a and may you eat in peace while your kids happily make new friends and follow the golden rule like the angels they are.
May you wake up one day and realize you haven’t refereed a fight in days because your children have finally learned to appreciate each other and that sharing truly is caring.
May naps be long, summer reading enjoyable, and relaxation be priority.
May your excursions be exciting and budget friendly and may the weather always cooperate.
Summer, We’re Ready
And while I do hope all of these things for each of you, I also hope in all seriousness that we can remember to enjoy the moments. That we can soak up these years when our kids are actually around for summer break and when they are thrilled about a trip to the beach with dear old mom.
My goal for this summer is to be present.
Be silly. Be creative. Be less type A. Be the mama who isn’t afraid to throw on a swimsuit and get wet and isn’t too busy to read two chapters of Harry Potter while the little brothers nap.
I won’t get this summer back, after all.
