The Ultimate Laid-Back Summer with Kids

Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom.

{This week: Post by Heather}

I had no idea what being a real adult was like. I was merely playing, practicing for the major leagues before this year. This year was my turn up to bat and-spoiler alert-it wasn’t a fantastic grand slam.

It’s almost summer.

The relief that comes with knowing it is so close is indescribable.

You’re probably curious as to why I’m so over the moon about a season that comes every year. It’s nothing new and let’s face it the girls are going to be out of school and driving me crazy in no time. So why am I so excited for this summer?

Let me preface it with this: this year blew me away. No, seriously! BLEW. ME. AWAY.

I have never been so busy, so overextended or over-scheduled in my entire life. This was the first year I felt like I was truly an adult. It’s true, I have been an adult for awhile. I am in my 30’s, and have 2 children. This year was when I was finally officially inducted into adulting.

Being an adult is not a joke or for the weak-hearted. I learned that being an adult means one slip-up could be catastrophe to your jenga-like schedule. Each piece had to be in place every single day or the whole thing was likely to come tumbling down at a moment’s notice. I learned that running around the house like a chicken with your head cut off is a saying that was developed based on my morning rituals trying in vain to get everyone up, ready and out the door, on time I might add. I also learned there is a difference between being busy and being booked from morning to night without any wiggle room whatsoever.

The summer brings a sense of relief for me. In my efforts to stress less and let go of perfection I have anxiously been awaiting the days of summer. This year finally broke me. I felt the stress mounting all year while continuously pushing myself harder and harder to adhere to our rigid and unforgiving schedule.

I know this story rings true for so many women. We’re constantly trying to juggle everything and there is only so long we can keep it up before we have exhausted ourselves completely.

This summer is my chance to let go of the stress, being over-scheduled or trying to fit everything in. I want to have the ultimate laid-back summer. I’m actually craving the hours we’ll spend idly searching for things to do. I love that when I get home from work I’ll be able to concentrate solely on them. I’ll be able to do the things I love with these little people I love so much. I’ve developed a sort of bucket list for how I plan to live my life this summer.

My Plan for the Ultimate Laid-Back Summer (aka “This Summer”):

I’m looking forward to having days filled with nothing, after a schedule that was filled with work, errands, after-school activities and to-dos.

I’m ready to go on an impromptu hike or bike ride, without worrying about being somewhere else.

I want my girls to take my hand and have a dance party, without agonizing over the fact that I should be fixing dinner instead.

I’m ready to spend an evening at the beach, not anxiously hustling them home to bed.

I want to listen with all my attention on what my girls are saying or singing or laughing, instead of planning out the next move in our schedule.

I resolve to have fun and be light-hearted, not stressed or short tempered because there aren’t enough hours in the day.

I’ll kick off my shoes and run through the sprinkler, despite how I feel about my thighs in a bathing suit.

I will take the girls for ice cream before dinner, not concerning myself with the fact they haven’t eaten dinner yet.

I’ll watch my girls wave sparklers on the 4^th of July, instead of working and missing them.

I’m going to enjoy the summer each and every day, not wish it away.

I’m excited to spend little moments together this summer because if there is one thing I’ve taken away from learning to be an adult it’s that life moves fast, too fast. You over-schedule, you don’t pay attention and it’s gone with no apology or remorse. So I intend to make my life count starting with this summer because the hard thing about being an adult is that no one can make my life better for me, except me.

What are you doing this summer? Do you have plans or are you trying to take it slow?

Heather lives in Florida with her husband, two girls and two pups. She is a lover of most things in life, too many to name here without scaring you, but a few include working out, learning new recipes, Pinterest, organizing (yes, it’s true!), home decor and learning to lead a more minimal and purposeful life.

At the end of 2014, she was feeling unhappy, burnt out and discouraged but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was making her feel that way. She started Just Becoming Me as a venture to better understand herself and what will lead her towards a more fulfilling life. Her motto is: “We only have one life, and I want to learn to live mine in a way that gets me excited to jump out of bed.”